INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Iraq

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development 
	(1)  what percentage of households in Iraq have (a) working electricity and (b) running water;
	(2)  what percentage of the Iraqi population live below the poverty line for the country.

Hilary Benn: Social statistics available for Iraq are currently limited and unreliable. DFID is considering ways in which to assist building statistical capacity in Iraq and has made available £30 million to the UN, including for statistical support, through the International Reconstruction Fund Facility For Iraq.
	The UN is working with the Iraqi Central Statistics Organisation and Ministries to develop up to date statistics. A United Nations Development Plan (UNDP) survey of Living Conditions of Iraqi Households is due to be completed in November this year and will include economic indicators such as income, day to day expenditures, availability of health and education facilities and access to public services. A World Food Programme Baseline Food Security Assessment, due next month, is likely to produce estimates of the amount of poverty in Iraq.
	In early July, peak production was averaging around 4,500 MW, just above pre war production levels. Progress has not been as rapid as planned, primarily as a result of sabotage and security constraints. High summer demand due to increased temperatures has resulted in reduced hours of electricity supply to most areas of Iraq. Significant programmes of long-term rehabilitation of electrical infrastructure continue.
	Estimates suggest that immediately after the conflict, 60 per cent. of urban and 30 per cent. of rural populations had access to safe water. Considerable work has taken place since the end of the conflict to improve the quantity, quality and reliability of water supplies. There are no reliable statistics of current coverage, but informal estimates by the former Coalition Provisional Authority (South) indicate that, in the south, coverage has increased by 10–15 per cent. since May 2003. Water quality and volume in Basra is expected to exceed pre-conflict levels during the summer of 2004.
	The joint UN and World Bank Needs Assessments of last year estimated that of the 70 per cent. of the Iraqi population that live in urban areas, 30 per cent. live near the poverty line. Approximately 60 per cent. of the population is dependent on free food rations under the Public Distribution System (PDS). Poverty in southern Iraq is particularly serious. A 2003 World Food Programme study on chronic poverty calculated that approximately 21 per cent. of Iraq's centre/south population were chronically poor or unable to meet their basic needs over long periods of time, even after assistance provided through PDS.

Advertising

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much money was spent on advertising and promotional literature for his Department's initiatives, broken down by year since 1997.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: DFID's expenditure on publicity, which forms a part of our effort to raise development awareness and understanding of international development issues in the UK, has been as follows:
	
		£
		
			  Amount 
		
		
			 1996–97 579,916 
			 1997–98 399,755 
			 1998–99 674.531 
			 1999–2000 879,354 
			 2000–01 1,484,281 
			 2001–02 1,286,053 
			 2002–03 1,300,000 
			 2002–04 773,772 
		
	
	DFID does not hold a separate advertising budget, the majority of advertising relates to recruitment advertising in newspapers and journals. Figures for the four calendar years 2000–03 are as follows. Expenditure figures for the previous years are not available:
	
		£
		
			  Amount 
		
		
			 2000 751,972 
			 2001 1,208,191 
			 2002 914,571 
			 2003 871,246

Africa (Trade)

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what policies the Department has to stimulate trade between African countries.

Hilary Benn: The Department for International Development (DFID) is supporting a number of initiatives on developing trade and regional integration between African countries. As part of the G8 Africa Action plan DFID has committed to support African efforts to advance regional economic integration and intra-African trade, including the development of regional institutions. This includes support for the work of the Trade and Regional Integration Department at the UN Economic Commission for Africa, and the Africa Union's Trade, Customs and Immigration Ministerial Committee.
	DFID is also supporting the regional economic communities in Africa to implement free trade areas and customs unions. One example is the £12 million regional trade facilitation programme to help expand trade in Southern Africa, and improve the incomes of poor people by increasing economic opportunities in the region. The programme will cover the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) and Common Market for Eastern and Southern African (COMESA) secretariats and member states.
	The Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) which are currently being negotiated between the EU and the African Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries also offer an opportunity to promote regional integration in Africa. One of the key objectives in the Cotonou agreement for EPAs is the development of trade between neighbouring countries. The UK is pressing the European Commission to ensure EPAs progress towards this objective as well as supporting capacity building in African countries to purse this in the negotiations.

Capacity Building Projects

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will list the institutional and regulatory capacity building projects (a) initiated and (b) funded by his Department each year since 1997 in (i) Asia, (ii) Europe, (iii) Central America, (iv) South America, (v) Oceania and (vi) Africa including the amounts (A) of money and (B) of aid in kind (1) pledged and (2) delivered to each; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: It is not possible to give this information without incurring a disproportionate cost. DFID's "Policy Information Marker System" does not include specific markers for institutional or regulatory capacity building projects. While a substantial proportion of DFID projects have a capacity building component not all do so. To identify those that do would require examining all projects approved since 1997 individually. Since 1997 over 4,500 individual projects, each with a commitment level exceeding £100,000, have been approved. There are, of course, many other projects that have been approved below this ceiling.

Departmental Expenditure

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the cost was of running the Overseas Development Administration's canteen facilities in 1996–97; and what the cost of running his Department's canteen facilities was in the latest year for which figures are available.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: The costs of running DFID's canteen facilities in 1996–97, and for the last financial year, are as follows:
	
		£
		
			  Amount 
		
		
			 1996–97 51,214 
			 2003–04 181,237

Departmental Expenditure

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the cost has been of refurbishments to the fabric of buildings owned by his Department (a) in the UK and (b) overseas since May 1997.

Hilary Benn: Refurbishments to DFID buildings in the UK over the period in question are as follows:
	1 Palace Street, London
	(a) Refurbishment project over the period 2000–01—2001–02, total cost £27 million
	(b) Maintenance and repair works to exterior of building, in accordance with
	requirements of lease, 2003/04, cost £1.2 million
	(c) Refurbishment/replacement of lifts, 2003/04, cost £350,000.
	20 Victoria Street, London
	(a) Refurbishment of building over the period 2001–02, total cost £1.2 million.
	Abercrombie House, East Kilbride
	(a) Refurbishment project over the period 2002–03 to date (due for completion late 2004), total cost £16 million.
	Information on refurbishment costs in our overseas offices is not collated centrally and is not readily available. To give the figures requested would incur a disproportionate cost.

Departmental Expenditure

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether office furniture designated for overseas offices owned by his Department is purchased (a) locally and (b) from the UK.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: Responsibility for the procurement of furniture in our overseas offices is normally delegated to the head of the office concerned. In the vast majority of cases procurement is carried out locally.

Departmental Expenditure

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the cost has been of replacement office furniture within buildings owned by his Department (a) in the UK and (b) overseas since May 1997.

Hilary Benn: The total cost of replacement furniture within buildings owned by DFID, purchased within the UK since May 1997, is £3,128,000. Information on expenditure on furniture in our overseas offices is not collated centrally; to provide the figures requested would incur a disproportionate cost.

Departmental Expenditure

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the cost was of printing (a) Overseas Development Administration headed notepaper in 1996–97 and (b) Department for International Development headed notepaper in the last year for which figures are available.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: DFID does not use pre-printed headed notepaper, and has not done so for many years, including the period in question. Headed paper is produced using templates on our internal IT systems.

Departmental Expenditure

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much was spent by (a) the Overseas Development Administration in 1996–97 and (b) his Department in the last year for which figures are available on academic consultants; and how many academic papers were published as a result of their work in (i) 1996–97 and (ii) the last year for which figures are available.

Hilary Benn: DFID's headquarters procurement group issued consultancy contracts to universities worth £15,189,439 in 1996–97 and £7,093,078 in 2003–04. Information from overseas offices is not held centrally and could only be provided by incurring a disproportionate cost.
	DFID does not maintain a record of academic papers published.

Departmental Expenditure

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much was spent by (a) the Overseas Development Administration in 1996–97 and (b) his Department in the last year for which figures are available on (i) advertising, (ii) public relations consultants and (iii) press officers, broken down by grade.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: DFID does not hold a separate advertising budget, the majority of advertising relates to recruitment advertising in newspapers and journals. Expenditure figures for years prior to 2000 are not available; the figure for the last calendar year, 2003 is £871,246.
	DFID does not keep central records of all staff working on communications across the Department and this information could not be gathered without incurring a disproportionate cost for the years specified. Information on the press office and publicity staff is available from 1996–97 and is set out as follows.
	
		
			  Number of officers Grades Annual cost £ 
		
		
			 1996–97 6 (press only) Not available 195,000 
			 2003–04 10 1xA1 4xA2 3xB1 2xB2 373,500

Disaster-prone Regions

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development 
	(1)  what actions have been taken to improve the Department's strategies for disaster-prone regions since the publication of the National Audit Office's report on Responding to Humanitarian Emergencies, HC 1227 of Session 2002–03;
	(2)  whether his Department systematically analyses and reduces disaster risks within its development planning and programming;
	(3)  when his Department will formulate a strategy to mainstream disaster preparedness and mitigation into its development work; and if he will make a statement;
	(4)  what plans his Department has to take disaster risks into account in its approach to development; and if he will make a statement.

Hilary Benn: A reduction in the incidence and impact of natural and man-made disasters is an essential precondition for poverty reduction in many countries.
	DFID accepts that we need to give due weight to ensuring that our development policies are risk aware and that people's vulnerability to risks is reduced. For example, DFID's Global Environmental Assets team is seeking to promote the integration of climate change risk into development planning. DFID's Central Asia, South Caucasus and Moldova team has carried out a review of disaster preparedness and response capacity in Central Asia to analyse gaps in support of disaster reduction and prevention.
	DFID has agreed to change the guidance for DFID country teams preparing Country Assistance Plans to ensure that disaster risk reduction issues are taken into consideration. DFID's guidance to country teams on environmental screening instructs country teams to examine disaster risk issues.
	DFID is in the process of reviewing how we might step up our work in this area. A scoping study, commissioned by DFID and undertaken by the Overseas Development Group, will report soon on how the development community and DFID can tackle disaster risk most effectively. It will also advise on ways to better mainstream disaster risk reduction and mitigation into development work. DFID expects to develop a forward strategy for DFID on disaster reduction in the light of the findings of this study. The findings will be disseminated to interested parties.
	The Government are commissioning a report to document UK civil society work in disaster reduction in preparation for the World Conference on disaster reduction to be held in Kobe, Japan next January, it is hoped this will enable networking and skill sharing within the disaster community.

HIV/AIDS

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment his Department has made of the impact on children with HIV/AIDS of the shortage of specially designed drugs.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: Every day, about 1,700 children become infected with HIV. There are an estimated 2.1 million children under age 15 living with HIV in the world today. The vast majority of these are in developing countries.
	Including children with HIV in treatment and care programmes is critical. Brazil has successfully implemented antiretroviral (ARV) treatment for children and adolescents as part of its national treatment policy. A number of other countries, including Uganda, Zambia, and South Africa, are beginning to enrol large numbers of children with HIV in their programmes.
	However, the absence of specially designed drugs for children causes problems. Many ARVs are not available in paediatric formulations that can be given to small children as a liquid, and tablets are often not manufactured in small enough doses for a child's body weight, requiring pharmacists and doctors to guess how to break up tablets or dose according to weight.
	The UK, through its recently published strategy on HIV and AIDS and DFID's new policy on HIV and AIDS treatment and care, has committed to support research into paediatric treatments including paediatric ARVs, and future treatment options. Indeed, the new HIV and AIDS Strategy prioritises the needs of children alongside those of women and vulnerable and marginalised groups. The UK has committed £150 million over the next three years on work to respond to the needs of orphans and other children made vulnerable by HIV and AIDS. DFID has also endorsed UNICEF's Strategic Framework on Orphans and Vulnerable Children. We will work to ensure children have access to treatment and care.

Overseas Aid/Funding

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much funding the UK provided (a) directly, (b) through the EU and (c) through trade agreements to (i) Nicaragua, (ii) the Philippines, (iii) Romania and (iv) Ukraine in each of the past five years; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: The table shows how much funding DFID provided directly and through the EU, for the relevant countries:
	
		UK Aid -- £000
		
			  1998/99 1999/2000 2000/01 2001/02 2002/03 
		
		
			 Nicaragua 1,996 3,780 636 613 2,397 
			 Philippines 10,220 6,424 2,245 5,744 1,177 
			 Romania 4,158 3,744 3,439 5,396 6,167 
			 Ukraine 8,619 8,442 9,331 8,877 7,892 
		
	
	
		EU multilateral share -- £million
		
			  1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 
		
		
			 Nicaragua 2.6 3.3 3.0 5.2 3.6 
			 Philippines 3.0 3.9 3.4 3.4 2.9 
			 Romania 11.4 19.1 2.8 32.2 57.5 
			 Ukraine 0.8 11.2 8.4 8.8 11.8 
		
	
	There is no separate funding under trade agreements. Any funding relating to trade agreements is included in the above figures.

Overseas Aid/Funding

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much funding the UK provided (a) directly, (b) through the EU and (c) through trade agreements to (i) Honduras, (ii) Kazakhstan, (iii) Macedonia, (iv) Moldova and (v) Mongolia in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: The following table shows how much funding DFID provided directly and through the EU for the relevant countries:
	
		UK aid -- £000
		
			  1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 
		
		
			 Honduras 3,351 2,097 1,371 1,220 1,075 
			 Kazakhstan 1,359 1,077 896 699 720 
			 Macedonia 530 12,326 2,185 8,066 1,837 
			 Moldova 825 829 1,074 1,584 3,354 
			 Mongolia 477 322 1,408 542 395 
		
	
	
		EU multilateral share -- £ million
		
			  1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 
		
		
			 Honduras 0.7 1.3 1.8 2.2 1.7 
			 Kazakhstan 1.3 1.4 1.9 0.8 0.9 
			 Macedonia 1.0 3.0 9.7 10.6 6.7 
			 Moldova 0.8 0.9 1.1 0.7 0.6 
			 Mongolia 0.3 0.2 0.7 0.7 0.4 
		
	
	There is no separate funding under trade agreements. Any funding relating to trade agreements is included in the figures.

Overseas Aid/Funding

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much funding the UK provided (a) directly, (b) through the EU and (c) through trade agreements to (i) Albania, (ii) Azerbaijan, (iii) the Dominican Republic, (iv) El Salvador and (v) Georgia in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: Details of funding are as set out as follows:
	
		UK aid -- £000
		
			  1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 
		
		
			 Albania 643 15,240 2,288 4,178 2,582 
			 Azerbaijan 498 697 688 479 269 
			 Dominican 253 35,209 646 11,082 17,362 
			 El Salvador 299 318 6,265 4,572 945 
			 Georgia 1,272 958 2,789 2,447 2,386 
		
	
	
		EU -- £ million
		
			  1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 
		
		
			 Albania 2.2 9.7 13 10.6 7.6 
			 Azerbaijan 2 3 2.6 2.5 1.6 
			 Dominican 2.3 4.1 3.2 1.6 1.6 
			 El Salvador 1.5 2.4 1–6 1.8 1.8 
			 Georgia 2 2.7 3.2 1.7 2.9 
		
	
	There is no separate source of funding for trade agreements and any such assistance is included in the figures.

Overseas Aid/Funding

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much (a) monetary aid and (b) aid in kind his Department has (i) pledged and (ii) delivered to (A) Albania, (B) Azerbaijan and (C) the Dominican Republic (1) in each financial year since 1997–98 and (2) in each month since January 2003; what new programmes his Department has (y) initiated and (z) funded in each country since January 2003; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: The table as follows shows what has been delivered to Albania, Azerbaijan and Dominican Republic in terms of aid in kind and monetary aid from 1997–8 to 2003–4 (latest figures). DFID does not keep monthly records of pledges or expenditures specifically in terms of aid in kind or monetary aid; DFID also does not keep records of how much has been pledged specifically in terms of aid in kind or monetary aid.
	
		Bilateral aid by country -- £
		
			   Monetary aid Technical cooperation Aid and trade provision Grants and other aid in kind Humaintarian assistance(1) DFID debt relief(2) Total DFID programme 
		
		
			 Albania 1997–98 — 399 — 64 286 — 749 
			  1998–99 — 589 — 35 19 — 643 
			  1999–2000 — 628 — 29 14,583 — 15,240 
			  2000–01 — 850- — 57 1,381 — 2,288 
			  2001–02 — 3,446 — 108 624 — 4,178 
			  2002–03 — 2,360 — 157 65 — 2,582 
			  2003–04(4) — 1,806 — 315 200 — 2,321 
			 Azerbaijan 1997–98 — 501 — 20 391 — 912 
			  1998–99 — 448 — 49 — — 498 
			  1999–2000 — 643 — 53 — — 697 
			  2000–01 — 343 — 11 334 — 688 
			  2001–02 — 411 — 5 63 —; 479 
			  2002–03 — 256 — 13 — — 269 
			  2003–04(4) — 113 — 48 — — 161 
			 Dominican Republic 1997–98 — — — — — — — 
			  1997–98 — — — — — — — 
			  1998–99 — 23 — — 59 — 82 
			  1999–2000 — — — 40 — — 40 
			  2000–01 — — — 48 — — 48 
			  2001–02 — — — 31 — — 31 
			  2002–03 — — — 75 — — 75 
			  2003–04(4) — — — 72 — — 72 
		
	
	1. Humanitarian Assistance comprises food aid and other humanitarian assistance.
	2. This comprises both interest and principal foregone under Retrospective Terms Adjustment. Amounts reported are repayments which would have fallen due each year.
	3. 2001–02 is a unique year in that total DFID expenditure is understated by around £140 million due to move to resource accounting.
	4. The figures for 2003–04 are still provisional.
	There are two new programmes in Albania: Support to Tax Administration Reform. The goal of this project is "To strengthen and stabilise the role of the State in order to alleviate poverty in Albania through the positive effect of economic activity and stability" at a cost of £1.2 million over two years; National Strategy for Socio-Economic Development Support Programme (NSSED): Albania, the goal of this programme is to mainstream the NSSED in public policy processes over the next three years at a cost of £1.2 million.
	DFID does not have a bilateral programme in Azerbaijan. Direct funding to Azerbaijan is however provided through the Small Grants Scheme (SGS) administered by the British embassy. For 2004–05, the budget for the SGS is £36,450.
	Together with the Foreign Office and the Ministry of Defence, DFID is supporting work in the South Caucasus through the Global Conflict Pool (GCPP). From September 2003, the UK has been supporting Conflict Resolution work in Nagorno Karabakh. This aims to improve understanding of the conflict among stakeholders, strengthen conflict sensitivity amongst national and international actors working in the region and implement activities that contribute to peace. DFID's contribution to this work is £2.4 million over three years.
	DFID gave support to the Dominican Republic and Haiti on the 1 May (40,000) after the flooding there.

Overseas Aid/Funding

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much (a) monetary aid and (b) aid in kind his Department has (i) pledged and (ii) delivered to (A) El Salvador, (B) Georgia, (C) Honduras, (D) Kazakhstan, (E) Macedonia, (F) Moldova, (G) Mongolia and (H) Nicaragua (1) in each financial year since 1997–98 and (2) in each month since January 2003; what new programmes his Department has (x) initiated and (y) funded in each country since January 2003; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: The following table shows how much monetary aid and aid in kind DFID has delivered in each financial year since 1997–98.
	
		Bilateral aid by country -- £000
		
			  Monetary aid Technical cooperation Aid and trade provision Grants and other aid in kind Humanitarian assistance(1) DFID debt relief(2) Total DFID programme(3) 
		
		
			 El Salvador
			 1997–98 — 25 — 187 — — 211 
			 1998–99 — 8 — 252 39 — 299 
			 1999–2000 — 3 — 315 — — 318 
			 2000–01 — — — 369 1,451 — 1,820 
			 2001–02 — — — 271 160 — 431 
			 2002–03 — 76 — 235 27 — 338 
			 2003–04(4) — 8 — 99 — — 107 
			 
			 Honduras
			 1997–98 — 627 — 259 — 280 1,166 
			 1998–99 — 444 — 330 1,526 280 2,580 
			 1999–2000 — 579 — 537 608 373 2,097 
			 2000–01 — 305 — 691 2 373 1,371 
			 2001–02 — 430 — 465 — 324 1,220 
			 2002–03 — 231 — 317 434 93 1,075 
			 2003–04(4) — 453 — 251 — 93 797 
			 
			 Kazakhstan
			 1997–98 — 1,978 — 118 50 — 2,145 
			 1998–99 — 1,284 — 58 — — 1,342 
			 1999–2000 — 993 — 83 — — 1,077 
			 2000–01 — 821 — 76 — — 896 
			 2001–02 — 674 — 25 — — 699 
			 2002–03 — 688 — 32 — — 720 
			 2003–04(4) — 1,212 — 21 — — 1,233 
			 
			 Nicaragua
			 1997–98 — 414 — 511 50 36 1,011 
			 1997–99 — 204 — 413 1,379 — 1,996 
			 1999–2000 — 270 — 549 334 — 1,153 
			 1999–01 — 161 — 464 11 — 636 
			 2000–02 — 125 — 338 150 — 613 
			 2001–03 — 626 — 417 — — 1,043 
			 2003–04(4) 255 241 — 534 — — 1,029 
			 Georgia
			 1997–98 — 714 — 72 317 — 1,103 
			 1998–99 — 739 — 45 488 — 1,272 
			 1999–2000 — 582 — 36 340 — 958 
			 2000–01 — 827 — 5 1,956 — 2,789 
			 2001–02 — 1,947 — 86 414 — 2,447 
			 2002–03 — 1,679 — 131 575 — 2,386 
			 2003–04(4) — 1,701 — 94 301 — 2,096 
			 
			 Moldova
			 1997–98 — 608 — 38 — — 645 
			 1998–99 — 795 — 30 — — 825 
			 1999–2000 — 754 — 75 — — 829 
			 2000–01 — 1,034 — 40 — — 1,074 
			 2001–02 — 1,582 — 2 — — 1,584 
			 2002–03 — 3,352 — 3 — — 3,354 
			 2003–04(4) — 2,383 — 49 — — 2,433 
			 
			 Macedonia (FYR of)
			 1997–98 — 666 — 58 — — 725 
			 1998–99 — 481 — 48 1 — 530 
			 1999–2000 — 837 — 50 11,409 — 12,296 
			 2000–01 — 1,151 — 98 936 — 2,185 
			 2001–02 3,000 1,564 — 71 3,430 — 8,066 
			 2002–03 — 1,620 — 77 94 — 1,791 
			 2003–04(4) — 1,255 — 105 80 — 1,440 
			 
			 Mongolia
			 1997–98 — 81 — 378 — — 458 
			 1998–99 — 89 — 380 — — 470 
			 1999–2000 — 35 — 255 32 — 322 
			 2000–01 — 536 — 275 597 — 1,408 
			 2001–02 — 206 — 247 89 — 542 
			 2002–03 — 129 — 166 100 — 395 
			 2003–04(4) — 14 — 253 — — 267 
		
	
	(1) Humanitarian assistance comprises food aid and other humanitarian assistance.
	(2) This comprises both interest and principal foregone under retrospective terms adjustment. Amounts reported are repayments which would have fallen due each year.
	(3) 2001–02 is a unique year in that total DFID expenditure is understated by around £140 million due to move to resource accounting.
	(4) Figures for 2003–04 are provisional.
	DFID does not keep monthly records of pledges or expenditures specifically in terms of aid in kind or monetary aid.
	The following table shows new programmes DFID has initiated and funded in each country since January 2003.
	
		£
		
			 Country Programme Commitment 
		
		
			 El Salvador Network to combat commercial sex exploitation 223,000 
			 Georgia Poverty reduction and good governance assessment 4,000 
			 Georgia Technical assistance to the Ministry of Health to establish a sustainable and affordable system of primary healthcare 5,220,000 
			 Georgia Technical assistance to the Ministry of Finance to enable the Government to utilise resources effectively 165,000 
			 Honduras Poverty reduction strategy 1,582,000 
			 Honduras/ Nicaragua HIV/AIDS programme 1,900,000 
			 Central America including Honduras/ Nicaragua/  El Salvador Support to regional unit for technical assistance (RUTA) to promote rural development 700,000 
			 Macedonia Public administration reform phase 2 3,000,000 
			 Moldova Support for the national rural development strategy 9,000 
			 Moldova Support to the rural investment services project 2,680,000 
			 Moldova Poverty synthesis study to strengthen poverty reduction and improve programme effectiveness 5,000 
			 Moldova Contribution to the population census 200,000 
			 Moldova Continuation of support to the Ministry of Finance for the development of a medium term expenditure framework 500,000 
			 Moldova Work through the global conflict prevention pool on a peace-building framework project to facilitate civil society engagement in conflict reduction (with the FCO) 440,000 
			 Nicaragua Civil society monitoring 434,000 
			 Nicaragua DFID/Inter-American development bank (IDB) cooperation to enhance social inclusion 1,669,250 
			 Nicaragua Maximising access to appropriate quality adolescent reproductive health services 500,000 
			 Nicaragua Violence reduction 720,000 
			 Nicaragua Promoting women's citizenship 179,000 
			 Nicaragua Youth sexual and reproductive health rights 500,000 
			 Nicaragua Promoting equity through economic growth 2,500,000 
		
	
	There have been no new programmes initiated in Kazakhstan or Mongolia since January 2003. DFID provides direct funding to these countries through the Small Grants Scheme (SGS) administered through the British Embassy. For 2004–05 the budget for the SGS is £45,000 and £200,000 respectively.

Policies (Environmental Impact)

John Horam: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many new policy proposals or significant changes in policy were produced in (a) 2002–03 and (b) 2003–04; how many of these were screened for their environmental impacts; and how many were the subject of separate environmental appraisals.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: The Department for International Development (DFID) recognises that environmental assessment is essential to ensure that environmental sustainability is integrated into international development policy, planning and operations.
	All DFID's development initiatives with a spend of more than £1 million are subject to environmental screening, which is also advised for projects of less than £1 million where there is a likelihood of significant environmental impacts. Where appropriate, screening will initiate a more comprehensive appraisal and assessment for policies, plans and programmes. The procedures, and guidance on the screening process, are detailed in DFID's Environment Guide (2003), which is available on the Department's public website www.dfid.gov.uk.
	In the last year, the rate of application of environmental screening to projects has almost doubled (from 34 per cent. in 2002–03 to 62 per cent. in 2003–04), following a review and strengthening of the procedures. A new team has been established within DFID to monitor and strengthen these procedures.

Public Relations

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the salary costs to the Department were for employees working in public relations and publicity in each year since 1997.

Mr. Gareth Thomas: Communication is integral to DFID's mission. DFID does not keep central records of all staff working on communications across the Department and this information could not be gathered without incurring a disproportionate cost for the years specified. Information on the press office is available from 1997 and is set out in the following table for all completed financial years to 2003–04.
	
		
			  Number of press officers Annual cost 
		
		
			 1997–98 6 243,000 
			 1998–99 4 240,000 
			 1999–2000 3.3 100,000 
			 2000–01 4.5 150,000 
			 2001–02 4 148,000 
			 2002–03 5 191,000 
			 2003–04 6 230,000

ELECTORAL COMMISSION COMMITTEE

Comptroller and Auditor General's Report

David Heath: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission when the Speaker's Committee will publish the Comptroller and Auditor General's statutory value for money report to it for 2002–03 on the Electoral Commission.

Peter Viggers: At its meeting on 14 July, the Speaker's Committee agreed to publish the Comptroller and Auditor General's report, which deals with the Commission's expenditure on its Public Awareness Strategy in 2002–03, as an Appendix to its First Report 2004. This report has been laid before the House and published today, 22 July, as House of Commons Paper No. 924. Copies are available in the Vote Office.

Postal Voting

Gordon Prentice: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission what information he has as to when the Electoral Commission expects to publish its reports on the June 2004 all-postal pilot elections.

Peter Viggers: I understand that the Commission has advised the Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs of its intention to submit its evaluation of the June 2004 all-postal pilots to him on 27 August 2004. On this date the Commission will electronically publish on its website (www.electoralcommission.org.uk) all four regional reports as well as an overarching report. This will enable its conclusions to be available before Parliament returns from its summer recess in September.
	Printed copies of all the reports will be available from 13 September and the Commission will send a copy of each of the reports to every Member of the House.

ADVOCATE-GENERAL

Departmental Staff (Upper Age Limits)

Andrew Turner: To ask the Advocate-General whether her Department (a) has a set retirement age which applies to all or most personnel and (b) has a maximum age beyond which applications for employment will not be considered; and what the age is in each case.

Lynda Clark: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given today by my hon. Friend, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Fish Stocks

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has to preserve fish stocks.

Ben Bradshaw: There are a range of national and EU measures in place to conserve fish stocks in our waters. Today I announced the Government's intention to seek a closure of the bass pair trawl fishery off South-West England.

Off-road Motor Cycles

Andy Burnham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she is taking to restrict the use of off-road motor cycles in (a) rural and (b) semi-rural areas.

Alun Michael: I recently consulted on a range of measures to tackle the problem of inappropriate use of off-road vehicles and to curtail inappropriate use of off-road motorcycles and other mechanically propelled vehicles on public rights of way. These proposals are relevant to both rural and semi rural areas. I shall respond to the consultative process and the views expressed in the near future.

Horticulture

John Grogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on policy towards the horticultural sector.

Alun Michael: The Government welcome the contribution of horticulture to the UK economy. It is worth some £2 billion at the farm gate and supports substantial downstream activity in packhouses, processing and the garden industry. We will continue to work with the industry through the Sustainable Farming and Food Strategy, by funding research and development and through the England Rural Development Programme.

Access Rules Review

Alex Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress has been made by the European Commission in completing the review of access rules referred to in Article 19 of Council Regulation (EC) No. 2371/2002; and what the latest anticipated timescale is for the completion of this review.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 15 July 2004
	The Commission has sought and secured a delay in the production of a report into the effectiveness of access restrictions, which was originally intended to be made available by 31 December 2003. During 2003 and 2004, the Commission secured agreement on the scope of the review, established a scientific expert group to agree its terms of reference and established scientific expert sub-groups to conduct reviews and draft reports for evaluation of each access rule. The Commission's scientific expert groups first met in April 2004, the sub-groups are now preparing their reports. No revised timescale for the Article 19 review has been agreed, but the Commission's final report and corresponding proposals are expected before the end of 2004.

Access Rules Review

Alex Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what (a) submissions and (b) representations have been made to her by the Scottish Executive in relation to the review of access rules referred to in Article 19 of Council Regulation (EC) No. 2371/2002.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 15 July 2004
	In the course of routine business the Scottish Executive has made numerous written and oral representations to Defra on several aspects of the Article 19 review, concentrating on the implications of the review for the Shetland Box access arrangements. Representations from Scottish Executive have included views on the proper scope and timetabling of the review, the membership and terms of reference for the Commission's scientific expert groups, and the UK strategy for anticipating and handling proposals arising from the Commission's report, including effective stakeholder engagement and consultation.
	The Scottish Executive provided Defra with detailed submissions on the effectiveness of the Shetland Box during the negotiations leading to the reformed framework regulation of the Common Fisheries Policy. No further submissions have been provided.

Access Rules Review

Alex Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what (a) submissions and (b) representations she has made to the European Commission in relation to the review of access rules referred to in Article 19 of Council Regulation (EC) No. 2371/2002.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 15 July 2004
	UK submitted written comments on the scope of the Article 19 review, made necessary analytical data available to the Commission and offered active co-operation in the establishment and membership of necessary scientific expert working groups.

Access Rules Review

Alex Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether, in relation to the review of access rules referred to in Article 19 of Council Regulation (EC) No. 2371/2002, she intends to seek to justify the continued existence of the Shetland Box in terms of conservation and sustainable exploitation objectives.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 15 July 2004
	Yes, the UK agrees that the Shetland Box access conditions should be strengthened and updated but considers the Shetland Box arrangement to be a vital protection for an important ecosystem—and also believes its continuation is also justified in other terms.

Access Rules Review

Alex Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether, in relation to the review of access rules referred to in Article 19 of Council Regulation (EC) No. 2371/2002, she intends to seek to justify the continued existence of the principle of relative stability in terms of conservation and sustainable exploitation objectives.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 15 July 2004
	No. The principle of relative stability is not being reviewed. Following working group discussions in 2003–04, it was agreed that the Article 19 review shall be limited to include the Shetland Box, the Plaice Box and certain access restrictions in the outermost territories of the Community.

Air Freight (Food)

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will estimate the (a) value and (b) quantity of food airfreighted into the United Kingdom between 1999 and 2003.

Alun Michael: An assessment of airfreighted food is being made as part of a wider study commissioned by the Department on the impact of food transportation. The report of the study of "The Validity of Food Miles as an Indicator of Sustainable Development" will be published soon. I will write to the right hon. Member to inform him when the report is published.

Ammonium Nitrate

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how often she meets industry representatives to discuss the manufacture and safe storage of ammonium nitrate fertiliser; and whether she has held such meetings since March.

Alun Michael: Officials from Defra and other key Government Departments have met industry representatives on a regular basis (weekly or more frequently), both before and since March, to discuss the manufacture and safe storage of ammonium nitrate fertiliser.

Aviation Emissions

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will estimate the carbon dioxide emissions from the aviation sector in each year since 1990; and what the projected figures are for each year to 2020.

Elliot Morley: Table A shows the estimated emissions of carbon dioxide from domestic and international flights departing from UK airports. The estimates are expressed in million tonnes of carbon per year (MtC/yr), for the period 1990–2002 as published in the latest UK Greenhouse gas inventory, released in April 2004.
	
		Table A: Emissions of CO 2  from aviation, 1990–2002, MtC/yr
		
			  Domestic International Total 
		
		
			 1990 0.59 4.03 4.62 
			 1991 0.58 3.97 4.55 
			 1992 0.61 4.40 5.00 
			 1993 0.62 4.70 5.32 
			 1994 0.61 4.89 5.50 
			 1995 0.65 5.20 5.85 
			 1996 0.68 5.54 6.21 
			 1997 0.70 5.90 6.60 
			 1998 0.73 6.60 7.33 
			 1999 0.75 7.23 7.98 
			 2000 0.76 8.02 8.79 
			 2001 0.80 7.53 8.33 
			 2002 0.80 7.34 8.14 
		
	
	Projected total emissions from aviation are published in the DfT's "Aviation and Global Warming" technical paper. Table B shows these data for the UK, also in MtC/yr.
	
		Table B: Total (international plus domestic) projected emissions for UK aviation emissions, MtC/yr
		
			  Total emissions 
		
		
			 2010 10.8 
			 2020 14.9 
		
	
	These projections are based on emissions from all flights departing the UK. Emissions projections for intervening years to 2020 are not available.

British Beef

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate she has made of the cost to the UK of France's ban on British beef; and what steps she has taken to recover such costs.

Ben Bradshaw: The value of beef exports from the UK to France in 1995 was £250 million. However a large proportion of this was in the form of carcase beef from Over Thirty Month cattle. Exports of such beef are not permitted under the EU rules of the Date-based Export Scheme (DBES). Trade would also have been affected by factors such as the exchange rate, consumer confidence in France and the need for any UK slaughterhouses wishing to export to be approved under the stringent requirements of the DBES.
	Compensation for losses resulting from the ban must be sought by those directly affected. It is not for the Government to seek compensation for damages to UK interests because it is not directly involved from a legal point of view. We would provide full support in terms of information and practical assistance to those who wish to seek compensation (although, as a matter of policy, we will not provide funding or detailed legal advice).

Cetacean By-catch

Candy Atherton: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether she has received the results of this year's monitoring of cetacean by-catch; and if she will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: As I explained in the written statement that I made earlier today on this subject, I have concluded, in the light of results from this season's monitoring of the UK element of the offshore bass fishery, that current levels of bycatch in the fishery as a whole may constitute a threat to the common dolphin population. In the course of this research conducted by the Sea Mammal Research Unit on our behalf, 169 dolphin casualties were observed. It has also become clear from our research that exclusion devices which previously showed some potential in reducing bycatch are not currently sufficiently developed to reduce bycatch to more acceptable levels in the immediate future.
	Community action to address this problem is needed. We will therefore be requesting that the European Commission introduce emergency measures to close the fishery while more permanent measures are developed. If the case for emergency action is not accepted then I will consider other options, including restricting the number of vessels allowed into the fishery and seeking a ban on pair trawling within 12 miles of the UK.

CFCs

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what quantities of CFC have been collected and safely destroyed under the licensed facilities operating in the UK under EU Regulation 2037/2000 on ozone depleting substances in each year since implementation of the regulations; and what percentage of potential CFCs available for recovery this represented in each year.

Elliot Morley: The information on CFCs is not held in the form requested. However, the following information is provided:
	
		Tonnes
		
			  Recovery of ozone depleting substances (ODS) including CFCs Total ODS destroyed (including halon) 
		
		
			 2002 387 979 
			 2003 494 819 
		
	
	In addition, a significant number of refrigerators leave the UK for treatment—418,000 in 2002 and 377,000 in 2003—and it will fall to the receiving EU state to recover the associated ODS, and report upon it.
	It is not possible to state the percentage of potential ODS available for recovery that the destroyed amounts represented. One of the key reasons for this is ODS loss during a product's service life.

CITES

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what Regulatory Impact Assessment she has obtained for her review of charges for Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species licences and permits.

Elliot Morley: The Department issued a consultation on CITES charges on 1 April 2004. At this stage, a partial Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) has been completed and was issued with the consultation documents to stakeholders.
	A partial RIA follows on from an initial RIA carried out at the first stages of policy development, it is informed by discussion, data gathering and informal consultations and in liaison with the Small Business Service.

CITES

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the (a) cost to pet retailers of selling individual Hermann's tortoises and (b) cost to wholesalers importing large numbers of Hermann's tortoises as a consequence of the proposed charges for Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species licences and permits.

Elliot Morley: No specific assessment has been made within the regulatory impact assessment of the effects on pet retailers selling tortoises. However, the assessments made over a range of traders in CITES protected species assume that the additional costs will be passed on to the consumer and that costs will rise by the amount of the proposed increase in the fee levels.
	As a general practice wholesale importers apply for an import permit to cover a number of specimens of the same species and their costs will therefore be lower when apportioned between individual specimens.

CITES

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the cost to UK breeders of Hermann's tortoises resulting from the proposed changes to charges for Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species licences and permits.

Elliot Morley: The partial Regulatory Impact Assessment developed for the consultation looked at a small sample of different businesses and how they might be affected by the proposed increases. UK breeders of Hermann's tortoises were not one of the businesses sampled.
	The final Regulatory Impact Assessment, which will accompany any legislation, will be developed in the light of the information given during the consultation period and any further analysis indicated will be carried out before a final decision on how to proceed with the question of charges for CITES licences and permits.

Civil Service Relocation

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on her Department's plans to relocate jobs from London and the South East to Yorkshire.

Alun Michael: The Department's Spending Review settlement includes a commitment to relocating 390 posts out of London and the South East by 2007–08. The Department is currently reviewing which posts will be relocated and exactly where these will be located.

Common Fisheries Policy

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the Government's policy is towards the planned change in the European Common Fisheries Policy.

Ben Bradshaw: In line with the UK's negotiating objectives we agreed important and wide-ranging reforms to the Common Fisheries Policy in December 2002. The reformed CFP provides a strong framework for policies and decisions which are more environmentally and economically sustainable. It provides for a stronger regional dimension, better stakeholder involvement, and better integration of environmental concerns. We remain committed to building on this reform.

Cormorants

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to her answer of 20 May 2004, Official Report, column 1084, on cormorant predation, when she expects to announce extra measures to help fishery owners and angling clubs to deal with the problem of predation by cormorants.

Ben Bradshaw: We are currently considering the extra measures we can put in place to help inland fisheries. I expect to be able to announce these before the seasonal influx of cormorants from coastal areas which takes place during the autumn.

Curry Commission Report

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent progress has been made by the Government in response to each of the recommendations of the 2002 Curry Commission Report.

Alun Michael: The Government accepted 101 of the 105 recommendations in the report of the Policy Commission on the Future of Farming and Food. These are being taken forward through the Strategy for Sustainable Farming and Food. However, the onus is not on Government alone to deliver these changes: many of the Commission's recommendations were targeted wholly or partly at industry, which has a pivotal part to play in this process.
	We are making good progress towards delivering the Strategy's objectives, most significantly through implementation of the Common Agricultural Policy reform agreement in June 2003. The deal will provide a more sustainable basis for European agriculture and reflect the wider environmental and rural development objectives which society seeks to achieve. The decoupling of payments will break the link between subsidy and production, so the farming industry will be free to react directly to market signals, not encouraged to follow the unsustainable production patterns of the past. CAP reform is expected to deliver significant economic benefits for the UK. These are estimated at between £400 million to £550 million a year at present exchange rates. The introduction of the Single Payment means that farmers will be freed from many of the bureaucratic rules associated with production linked subsidies and will have greater opportunity to restructure their businesses to best meet the needs of the market. We estimate that overall there will be an increase in farm incomes up to £150 million which represents around 5 per cent. of UK Total Income From Farming in 2003.
	Enhancing our environment is central to the vision set out in the Strategy. A new agri-environment scheme, Environmental Stewardship, is being introduced in England in 2005 and this includes the new Entry Level Stewardship (ELS). The ELS will be at the heart of improving farming's environmental performance. It will be open to applications from all farmers, enabling them to deliver what society wants: the sustainable management of our countryside as a whole.
	A series of initiatives in the food chain is designed to achieve a more efficient and competitive supply chain. These include the Food Chain Centre and English Farming and Food Partnerships, two industry bodies set up with Government support to increase competitiveness and encourage co-operation.
	The Government recognise the need for smarter regulation of agriculture, focusing on outcomes rather than processes in order to minimise burdens on the industry. We are working to join up regulatory requirements into a whole farm approach which will reduce bureaucracy. The Whole Farm Appraisal is one of the key initiatives being developed to assist the farming industry in streamlining regulation; this has been successfully piloted and will be launched in autumn 2005.
	Other initiatives being taken forward to deliver the Strategy include the establishment of a Non-Food Crops Centre to provide information and advice on non-food crop production; work on animal health and welfare, including the recent launch of the Animal Health and Welfare Strategy; consultation on the goals and priorities for the Food and Health Action Plan under the "Choosing Diet" strand of the Department of Health's "Choosing Health?" consultation and delivery of a Learning Skills and Knowledge programme.
	The Government announced a sum of £500 million to implement the Strategy as part of the 2002 Spending Review, in addition to existing spending by Defra and other Government Departments which is already being used to deliver aspects of the Strategy. This sum covers a number of major aspects of the Strategy. These include the new Environmental Stewardship Scheme and the IT system to underpin all the England Rural Development Programme schemes; improvements in livestock traceability and other major animal health and welfare measures, and the new food chain initiatives.

Dairy Farmers

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what percentage of dairy farmers have shown profits in the last financial year; and if she will make a statement.

Alun Michael: The latest available data on farm incomes is for the 2002–3 farm accounting year from the Farm Business Survey. This survey covers around 2200 full time farm businesses in England, of which around a fifth are classified as dairy farms. Based on this survey data, the average net farm income of dairy farms in 2002–3 was £18,300 and 80 per cent. of dairy farm businesses showed a positive net farm income. Net farm income is defined as the return to the farmer and spouse for their manual and managerial labour and on the tenant type capital of the business. It does not include the cost of farmer and spouse labour.
	Dairy farm incomes are forecast to rise slightly in 2003–4, principally due to an increase in milk prices although higher feed prices during the latter part of the year offsets some of this increase.

Departmental Buildings (Refurbishment)

John Whittingdale: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the cost has been of refurbishments to the fabric of buildings owned by her Department since May 1997.

Alun Michael: Expenditure on fabric refurbishment each year since Defra was established was:
	
		
			  £ 
		
		
			 2000–2001 2,351,000 
			 2001–2992 850,000 
			 2002–2003 3,525,000 
			 2003–2004 2,464,799

Eggs

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs who represented the United Kingdom at the Council of Ministers meeting that decided to remove the derogation from marking for ungraded eggs.

Alun Michael: My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State, and my hon. Friend, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Commons) represented the UK at the meeting in question.

Eggs

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether the United Kingdom voted against the decision of the Council of Ministers to remove the derogation from marking for ungraded eggs; and if she will make a statement.

Alun Michael: Throughout the negotiations, the UK opposed the Commission's proposal. At the Council of Ministers, we abstained and gave the following statement formally to record our position;
	"The United Kingdom has not felt able to support the proposal to require all eggs at local public markets to be marked. The Commission has produced no evidence demonstrating that there is actually a food safety or enforcement problem that needs to be addressed. The proposal is therefore likely to lead to unnecessary additional burdens on small-scale producers. A facultative provision, allowing those member states which do have concerns about local markets to take necessary action, would have been more appropriate."

Eggs

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which member states (a) supported and (b) opposed the Council of Ministers' decision to remove the derogation from ungraded eggs.

Alun Michael: The UK abstained from voting but all other member states voted in favour.

Emissions Trading Scheme

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate her Department has made of the carbon emissions reductions from the EU emissions trading scheme.

Margaret Beckett: The overall emissions reductions from the scheme will depend on the price of carbon, which in turn is dependent on the total number of allowances in the EU market. The number of allowances to be allocated by the UK in the first phase of the scheme (2005–2007) is based on the UK reducing carbon dioxide emissions below our Kyoto Protocol target and towards our domestic goal.

Energy Efficiency

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate she has made of the external costs associated with energy wasted from inefficiencies, with particular reference to the environmental costs.

Elliot Morley: In January 2002, a Government Economic Service working paper "Estimating the Social Cost of Carbon Emissions" was published as a joint Defra-Treasury publication. The GES paper suggested £70 per tonne of carbon (within a range of £35 to £140/tC) as an illustrative estimate for the global damage cost of carbon emissions.
	The Government's recently published Energy Efficiency Action Plan identified target annual savings of 12.1 M tonnes of carbon by 2010. The corresponding total annual value of the reduced environmental damage is therefore around £850 M/y.

Environmental Business Growth Action Programme

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the role of the Environment Agency is in the management of the Environmental Business Growth Action Programme, with particular reference to the west Midlands.

Elliot Morley: The Environmental Business Growth Action Programme is designed to assist small and medium enterprises to take advantage of the market for environmental goods and services. The Environment Agency is the accountable body for the programme, managing funds provided by Advantage West Midlands and the Government office for the west Midlands. The programme only operates in the west Midlands.

Water Leakage

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate she has made of the external costs associated with water leakages and inefficient use of water, with particular reference to the environmental costs.

Elliot Morley: Water companies produce long-term (25 year) water resource plans to balance the supply and demand for water. These plans, which are reviewed annually and revised every five years, include economic leakage appraisals that form the basis of annual leakage targets. The plans are submitted to Ofwat and the Environment Agency for scrutiny as part of the business planning process and contain companies' assessments of the relative costs and benefits of different options for balancing the supply and demand for water. The guidance for producing water resource plans requires water companies to take account of all costs and benefits, including environmental and social ones, in their assessments. The final mix of resource schemes, leakage reduction and demand management schemes chosen to balance supply and demand will be at the least cost to both customers and the environment.

Flooding

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate she has made of the external costs associated with flooding, with particular reference to the environmental costs.

Elliot Morley: The Department has undertaken a number of estimates of the national costs associated with flooding. The impact of flooding will vary from case to case. However, the national level estimates have shown that in most cases flood damage estimates are dominated by damage to residential, commercial and industrial property and its associated contents. Work to evaluate other impacts includes:
	recent research by the Flood Hazard Research Centre (FHRC) at Middlesex University which suggested that emergency response costs are probably some 11 per cent. of physical damage costs;
	the FHRC also provides guidance on assessing the benefits to recreation of flood defence and coast protection works;
	research lead by Risk and Policy Analysts Ltd. has identified the average value of health and stress due to flooding at £200 per household per year for those in high risk areas.
	There have been many studies of the value of other environmental impacts, including a current study by the University of East Anglia that will report in 2005 on the functional value of wetlands. Current Defra guidance suggests that appropriate water level management for wetlands can have a benefit of between £175 and £300 per hectare per year. In the latest national assessments these figures were used to quantify environmental benefits from increased flooding of some lower grade agricultural land.
	The above are included in current Defra guidance to operating authorities for project appraisal purposes.

Farm Payments

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many applications for each category of farm payments, and of what value, were due to have been paid by 30 June but have not yet been paid; and if she will make a statement.

Alun Michael: The only category of farm payments due to be paid by 30 June are those for the 2003 bovine schemes. The following table shows the number of applications, the number paid, the value paid, the number unpaid and the value unpaid for each category of farm payment. For completeness the same data is also shown for the other categories of 2003 farm based schemes at the regulatory closing date for payments.
	
		
			 Category Number of applications Number paid Value paid (£) Number unpaid Percentage unpaid Value unpaid (£) 
		
		
			 Bovine schemes 256,533 251,620 365,086,982 4,913 1.92 3,082,749 
			 Sheep Annual Premium Scheme (SAPS)-closing date 31 March 2004 26,851 26,810 113,055,712 41 0.15 175,079 
			 Hill Farm Allowance-closing date 31 March 2004 11,052 9,646 33,987,521 201 2.04 2,258,310 
			 Arable Area Payments (AAPS) Main claims- closing date 31 January 2004 40,535 40,048 954,411,819 405 0.9 40,535 
			 Non-food-closing date 31 March 2004 4,427 4,346 20,417,026 81 1.82 4,427 
		
	
	All 2003 scheme year payment targets were met. The excellent payment performance of previous years was maintained on AAPS (main claims) and SAPS and for the first time since the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) was created, the payment target was met for AAPS non food claims and all bovine schemes.

Flood Defence Projects

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her Department's total spending was in each of the last three years on flood defence projects.

Elliot Morley: In the years under consideration, Defra provided grant aid as a percentage of eligible costs to the flood and coastal defence operating authorities—the Environment Agency (EA), local authorities and internal drainage boards—to assist with improvement works and studies to manage flood and coastal erosion risk. Grant aid was also made to the EA to assist towards the cost of national initiatives (such as the national flood and coastal defence database, flood warning public awareness and catchment flood management plans) and in 2001–02 exceptional funding was provided to the EA following the floods of autumn 2000 for repair works and feasibility and design costs for accelerated river defences.
	Grant aid (including Supplementary Credit Approval for local authorities) was £90 million in 2001–02, £120 million in 2002–03 and £127 million in 2003–04. These figures include funding for projects to protect against coastal erosion but many of these also provide significant benefits in terms of reducing risk of flooding from the sea.
	Further Government support was provided by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's local government funding system. This supported, among other things, levies paid by local authorities to the EA which funded the balance of the cost of EA improvement projects after Defra grant.

Flood Defence Projects

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what action her Department is taking to ensure that all timber purchased for flood defences comes from legal and sustainable sources.

Elliot Morley: While Defra has overall policy responsibility for flood and coastal erosion risk in England, we do not build defences, nor do we have any power to direct the operating authorities' choice of materials for their projects. However, we have provided guidance to operating authorities since the mid-1990s.
	In 1994, the Chief Engineer of the former Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, a predecessor of this Department, wrote to maritime district councils to encourage them to consider the use of alternative materials and to procure timber from well-managed and sustainable sources.
	In 2000, the then Environment Minister, Michael Meacher, announced that Government Departments and agencies, including the Environment Agency, must actively seek to procure timber and timber products from sources independently validated as legal and sustainably managed.
	In 2002, Mr. Meacher wrote to all English local authorities to encourage them to adopt responsible timber procurement policies.

Fruit

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will estimate the proportion by (a) value and (b) quantity of fruit consumed in the UK that was produced in the UK in each of the last three years for which records are available.

Alun Michael: The following table provides details of the quantity and value of UK fruit production and supply.
	
		UK fruit production and supply
		
			  Quantity (Thousand tonnes) Value (£ million) 
			  2001 2002 2003 2001 2002 2003 
		
		
			 UK production 330 290 242 238 253 281 
			 Imports 2,868 2,988 2,979 1,482 1,612 1,712 
			 Exports(5) 73 69 78 41 47 48 
			 Total supply(6) 3,125 3,209 3,143 1,679 1,818 1,945 
			
			 Production as percentage of total supply 11 9 8 14 14 14 
		
	
	(5) Exports includes imported fruit subsequently re-exported.
	(6) UK production plus imports less exports.
	Customs and Excise overseas trade information does not distinguish exports of fruit produced in the UK from re-exports of imported fruit. Also food consumption survey data does not distinguish UK and imported produce. This makes it difficult to provide accurate information on consumption of UK produced fruit. Therefore information has been presented to show the proportion of the total supply of fruit in the UK that is represented by UK production.
	The main fruits produced on a commercial scale in the UK include apples (where the production as a percentage of total supply was 21 per cent. by quantity in 2003), pears (20 per cent.), strawberries (53 per cent.) and raspberries (63 per cent.).
	For other fruits, for example oranges, bananas, peaches, nectarines, grapes, and pineapples, the UK is virtually entirely dependent on imports.

Fuel Poverty

Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on progress in eradicating fuel poverty.

Elliot Morley: The Government's Second Annual Progress Report highlighted the progress made in tackling fuel poverty. The outlook is encouraging. In 2002 it is estimated there was a drop in the number of fuel poor households in the UK to around 2½ million, from 3 million in 2001. We remain committed to tackling the issue of fuel poverty.

Green Minister

John Horam: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the activities of the Green Minister in the Department in financial year 2003–04.

Elliot Morley: My noble Friend, the Lord Whitty, is Defra's Green Minister and in this role is a Member of the Ministerial Sub-Committee of Green Ministers. I chair the Sub-Committee. However, it has been established practice under successive Governments not to disclose information relating to the proceedings of Cabinet Committees.
	Sustainable development is the overarching aim of Defra. Therefore, the work of all Defra's ministers, including the Green Minister, contributes to this aim. Consequently, it is not possible to separate the role of the Green Minister from Lord Whitty's other work in the financial year 2003–04 .
	Important pieces of work that Lord Whitty has been involved with over the last year include publication of a UK Framework for Sustainable Consumption and Production in conjunction with the DTI, the Sustainable Food and Farming Strategy, the UK initiative on developing a global Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership and agreement on several chapters of the Framework for Sustainable Development on the Government Estate. Lord Whitty also represented Defra on the Ministerial Group for Implementation of the Energy White Paper and covers energy efficiency and fuel poverty.

Greenhouse Gases

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate she has made of the external costs associated with greenhouse gas emissions, with particular reference to the environmental costs.

Elliot Morley: A Government Economic Service working paper "Estimating the Social Cost of Carbon Emissions" was published as a joint Defra-Treasury publication, and this contains estimates of the external costs associated with greenhouse gas emissions. This paper is available on the Defra website at www.defra.gov.uk/environment/climatechange/carbon- cost/index.htm along with other papers describing the Government's work on the social cost of carbon.

Hazardous Waste

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate she has made of the amount of hazardous waste produced in 2003–04, broken down by (a) quantity and (b) type.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 13 July 2004
	None. Data on hazardous waste (as consigned special waste) are reported by calendar year. That for 2003 is currently being processed by the Environment Agency and is expected to be available in September.

Home Energy Efficiency Scheme

Tony Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many homes in Northampton have benefited from the Home Energy Efficiency Scheme.

Elliot Morley: The Home Energy Efficiency Scheme is now marketed as Warm Front. Between the launch of the scheme in June 2000 and the end of March 2004, approximately 873 households in Northampton received assistance from the Scheme.

Departmental Housing

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for how many empty houses her Department is responsible; and if she will make a statement.

Alun Michael: The Department is currently responsible for three empty houses. Our agents have been instructed to dispose of them by sale on the open market.

Kite Flying

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what guidance her Department issues to (a) local authorities and (b) others relating to the banning of kite flying in certain public places.

Alun Michael: Our guidance notes on the procedures for making byelaws explain how to ban kite flying in the countryside. There is additional guidance in "Managing Coastal Activities: A Guide for Local Authorities". Both of these documents can be found on the Defra website. Hard copies of the general guidance may be obtained by writing to Defra's countryside recreation branch, Zone 1/03, Temple Quay House, 2 The Square, Bristol, BS1 6EB. The guidance on coastal activities is available from Defra Publications, Admail 6000, London, SW1A 2XX, Tel: 08459 556000.
	There are occasions, particularly in relation to public safety, when byelaws are the only answer to managing recreational activities; we encourage local authorities and others to look first at other solutions. Schemes for self-regulation can enable the public to continue to enjoy as wide a range of activities as possible.

Landfill

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much hazardous waste has been disposed of to landfill in each year since 1997.

Elliot Morley: Data for the fate of consigned special waste have been collated centrally by the Environment Agency from 1998 to 2002 and are as follows; 2003 data are in preparation.
	Special waste consigned to landfill disposal for the years:
	
		
			  Million tonnes 
		
		
			 1998–99 (combined) 2.3 
			 2000 2.1 
			 2001 2.3 
			 2002 2.0

Landfill

Adrian Flook: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs where funds diverted to the Treasury from the Landfill Tax Credit Scheme since 2003 have been spent, broken down by (a) region and (b) project.

Elliot Morley: As part of the reform of the Landfill Tax Credit Scheme approximately £84/92/92 million has been allocated to sustainable waste management in England (£100/110/110 million to the UK as a whole) for the financial years 2003–04, 2004–05 and 2005–06. A new public expenditure programme, delivered jointly by Defra and the Waste and Resources Action Programme, has been established for England. The new Waste Implementation Programme is designed to accelerate progress towards meeting the landfill directive targets.
	The Waste Implementation Programme is taking forward a package of strategic measures recommended by the Strategy Unit in "Waste Not Want Not", published in November 2002. Key areas of action so far (including indicative three-year funding allocations) include the following:
	
		£ million
		
			 Project Budget allocation 
		
		
			 Four programmes for waste minimisation 40 
			 Kerbside taskforce to help local authorities maximise potential for kerbside collection of recyclables and to boost the recycling of organic materials 15 
			 Programme for education and awareness 30 
			 Two programmes for data and research 22 
			 Programme of development of new technologies,  including pilots 37 
			 Programmes designed to help local authorities with their recycling strategies, and ensure they are offered targeted assistance 10 
		
	
	In addition to these programmes, the Waste Implementation Programme contributed £29 million in 2003–04 and 2004–05 to boost Defra's Waste Minimisation and Recycling ("Challenge") Fund. This fund provides project-based funding to local authorities to enable them to roll out high-quality recycling and home composting schemes in their area.
	The Waste Implementation Programme has also provided £20 million in targeted grants to local authorities in 2004–05. This grant is designed to reduce the pressure faced by councils to fund services such as waste management through increases in council tax.

Milk

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to what factors does she attributes the difference in gross payments per litre of milk produced in the UK compared with prices in (a) France (b) Germany and (c) other EU member states.

Alun Michael: As has been stated in response to parliamentary questions on a number of occasions, KPMG's report, "Prices and Profitablitily in the GB Supply Chain", concluded that low farmgate prices in the UK were largely due to the structure of the UK industry, the low value of the product mix and the low level of product innovation within the UK compared with some member states.

Milk

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what checks are carried out on the quality of milk imported (a) from (i) new and (ii) longer-standing, members of the EU and (b) from elsewhere; and if she will make a statement.

Alun Michael: All milk imported into the UK from other EU member states must have been produced in accordance with the Community rules laid down in Council Directive 92/46/EEC. All milk and milk products placed on the market in the EU must conform to the requirements of that Directive irrespective of whether they originate from new or existing member states. Community rules permit random spot checks at destination on milk imported into the UK from other EU member states. Plants in the new member states which could not meet the requirements of Directive 92/46/EEC on accession were granted transitional status and allowed to place products on their domestic market for a limited period as long as they bore a special health mark which identified them as being only for the domestic market.
	The above Directive lays down the hygiene rules which apply to the production wrapping, storage and transportation of milk to ensure human and animal health are protected.
	Ensuring that all member states comply with their Community obligations in properly implementing and applying the Directive is the responsibility of the European Commission, whose Food and Veterinary Office carries out regular programmes of inspection visits to all member states. All milk imported into the UK from third countries must come from EU approved establishments in approved countries and must be accompanied by appropriate animal and public health certification signed by a veterinarian of the competent authority. The milk must enter via an approved Border Inspection Post (BIP) where it is subject to veterinary inspection to ensure that conditions of import have been complied with and to ensure that it has remained in a satisfactory condition during transport. The checks ensure that all the required documentation is correct and applies to the consignment in question. 50 per cent. of consignments of milk imported for human consumption are also given a physical check which can include taking samples for laboratory analysis.

Milk

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many litres of imported milk have been rejected in the last five years for which figures are available; and if she will make a statement.

Alun Michael: There are no figures available on the amount of milk imported into the UK that has been rejected.

Milk

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much milk has been imported in the last five years for which figures are available, broken down by country of origin; and if she will make a statement.

Alun Michael: The table below show the UK imports of liquid milk in each of the last five years to 2003, broken down by country of despatch.
	
		UK imports of liquid milk 1999–2003 -- Thousand litres
		
			 Country 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 Grand Total 
		
		
			 Irish Republic 60,342 60,199 54,835 26,233 19,495 221,105 
			 Denmark 30,334 25,166 9,421 795 425 66,140 
			 Germany 17,078 19,531 11,196 5,629 3,888 57,323 
			 France 13,288 8,514 9,667 10,299 8,600 50,368 
			 Belgium 6,786 6,922 3,811 2,345 3,759 23,624 
			 Netherlands 3,620 462 919 2,198 1,027 8,227 
			 Austria 2,844 1,355 — — — 4,200 
			 Italy 114 214 91 101 70 590 
			 Portugal — 0 — — 40 40 
			 Spain 23 14 — — — 37 
			 Sweden 1 — — — — 1 
			 EU 15 Total 134,431 122,378 89,940 47,600 37,303 431,653 
		
	
	Source:
	H M Customs and Excise.
	Data prepared by Statistics (Commodities and Food) Consultancy, Trade and IT, ESD, DEFRA.
	Note:
	2003 data one provisional and subject to amendment

Milk

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will provide figures for (a) UK imports, (b) exports, (c) production, (d) domestic use and (e) self-sufficiency of major milk products for (i) 2002, (ii) 2003 and (iii) 2004 (estimated).

Alun Michael: The information requested is given in the following table. Care is needed when interpreting forecasts for 2004 as only a small proportion of data for 2004 are so far available and market developments from now until the end of the year remain uncertain.
	
		UK milk products: Production and supplies of milk products manufactured by both dairy companies and on farm -- Thousand tonne (unless otherwise specified)
		
			  2002 2003 (provisional) 2004 (forecast) 
		
		
			 Butter (a) (b)
			 Production (c) 136 148 152 
			 Imports 116 118 122 
			 Exports 39 44 41 
			 Total new supply (d) 213 222 233 
			 Increase in stocks (e) 1 -2 -2 
			 Total domestic uses (d) (e) 212 224 234 
			 Production as percentage of total new supply for use in UK 64 67 65 
			 Closing stocks (e) 19 17 15 
			 
			 Cheese
			 Production (c) 380 362 370 
			 Imports 285 320 318 
			 Exports 82 90 100 
			 Total new supply 583 593 588 
			 Increase in stocks -3 -5 4 
			 Total domestic uses 585 598 584 
			 Production as percentage of total new supply for use in UK 65 61 63 
			 Closing stocks (f) 12 7 0

Policies (Environmental Impact)

John Horam: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many new policy proposals or significant changes in policy were produced by her Department in (a) 2002–03 and (b) 2003–04; how many of these were screened for their environmental impacts; and how many were the subject of separate environmental appraisals.

Elliot Morley: All Defra's new policy proposals or changes in policy which were likely to have a direct or indirect impact (whether benefits or cost) on business, charities and the voluntary sector were the subject of Regulatory Impact Assessments (RIAs). In accordance with Cabinet Office guidelines, these were required to include the full range of potential impacts on all stakeholders, including environmental impacts where relevant. Separate environmental appraisals were not required. All completed RIAs were published on Defra's website at http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/ria/default.htm.
	In 2002–03, 26 RIAs were published on Defra's website. Of these nine included consideration of environmental impacts. However in the other 17 the policy assessed was considered not to have significant environmental impacts, indicating that environmental appraisal would not have been necessary. This is in accordance with departmental guidance. In 2003–04 1 , 41 RIAs were published on Defra's website, and 21 included consideration of environmental impacts. A further 18 were considered not to have significant environmental impacts.
	1 http://www,defra.gov.uk/environment/economics/appraisal/index.htm

Polish Fishing Fleet

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether she has had discussions with representatives of the Polish Government on arrangements for access to Polish fishing vessels to British waters.

Ben Bradshaw: No. Poland has no access to the 6–12 mile zone from the UK's shoreline. And whilst the principle of free access in the Community's Exclusive Economic Zone from 12 to 200 miles offshore applies to all member states the only access Poland has to any quota stocks where the UK has an interest is limited to 1096t of mackerel in western Community waters, out of a total allowable catch of 545,500t.

Polish Milk Products

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will estimate (a) the change in volumes of (a) milk and (b) milk products from Poland since its accession to the European Union on 1 May and (b) full year imports in 2005.

Alun Michael: Post-accession trade figures are not yet available and insufficient time has elapsed since accession to enable reliable yearly forecasts to be made. There were no imports of milk or milk products into the UK from Poland in 2003 or during the first quarter of 2004.

Post-consumer Paper Waste

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much post-consumer paper waste was produced in the UK in each of the last three years; what percentage of post-consumer paper waste was collected for recycling in the UK in (a) 2001, (b) 2002 and (c) 2003; and what the projected annual percentages are for the collection of post-consumer paper waste for recycling in the UK for the next five years.

Elliot Morley: Estimates from the Confederation of Paper Industries give UK recovered paper usage. The results and corresponding percentages produced from total paper production are listed in the following table.
	
		
			  Recovered paper usage (thousands tonnes) Percentage of UK production 
		
		
			 2001 4,612 74 
			 2002 4,610 74 
			 2003 4,533 73 
		
	
	No official projections of post-consumer waste recycling for the UK are available.

Quality Status (Yorkshire)

Jeff Ennis: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many (a) parish and (b) town councils have been awarded quality status in (i) Barnsley, (ii) Doncaster and (iii) South Yorkshire.

Alun Michael: There are a number of challenging criteria that town and parish councils have to pass in order to gain Quality Status. One criteria is that the clerk needs to be qualified in the Certificate in Local Council Administration. In addition there are other criteria such as democratic accountability, communications and audited accounts.
	To date nationally there are 55 town and parish councils that have gained Quality Status and there are 500 clerks registered for the Certificate in Local Council Administration.
	The Yorkshire and Humber Training Partnership has held 12 training events with 400 delegates attending. In addition the Countryside Agency has sponsored an event which was attended by a further 160 delegates.
	The Yorkshire and Humber Training Partnership have received 40 registrations from clerks that are working towards the Certificate in Local Council Administration. An additional 40 are also working towards the qualification but have not yet registered. We anticipate that there will be 80 town and parish councils in this region applying for Quality Status in the coming 12 months
	No applications for Quality status have yet been received from parish councils or town councils in Barnsley, Doncaster or South Yorkshire.

Radiation Risks

Michael Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what the dates were of the meetings reported on the web-site of the Committee Examining Radiation Risks from Internal Emitters;
	(2)  what the origin was of the dosimetric data used in investigating the radiological significance of increases in leukaemia among children aged up to one year in the Federal Republic of Germany between 1 July 1986 and 31 December 1987 by the Committee Examining Radiation Risks from Internal Emitters.

Elliot Morley: The CERRIE Secretariat has informed me that the committee held 16 meetings on the following dates
	4 December 2001;
	7 February 2002;
	20 March 2002;
	6 June 2002;
	8 August 2002;
	1 October 2002;
	11 December 2002;
	27 February 2003;
	30 April 2003;
	26 June 2003;
	22 October 2003;
	16 December 2003;
	24 February 2004;
	31 March 2004;
	19 May 2004; and
	24 June 2004.
	The Committee also convened a workshop on 21, 22 and 23 July 2003, which all Members attended.
	The Department has not yet received the final version of the CERRIE report, which is still in preparation. It would not be appropriate to comment on the report until the Committee has finalised it and presented it to its parent body, COMARE, and to Ministers. I understand the report is expected to be published in October this year.

Ragwort

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if her Department will ask local authorities to publish their ragwort control policies; and if she will make a statement.

Alun Michael: The Code of Practice on control of Ragwort that I published recently set out what needs to be done by all land managers including local authorities to prevent the spread of Ragwort. It recommends that where a medium or high risk to animal welfare from ragwort has been identified, land managers, including those with responsibility for public land, should put in place and implement a control policy.
	It is for individual local authorities to decide their control policy and to decide whether to make their control policy publicly available.

Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions she has had with farmers on the effects on them of a renewable transport fuel obligation; and if she will make a statement.

Elliot Morley: The Department has had a number of discussions with farmers and farming industry representatives on the effect of the renewable transport fuel obligation on farmers. In addition, we have received a large number of letters and petitions from farmers supporting the obligation.
	The Department for Transport is currently considering the response to its consultation on the implementation of the EU Biofuels Directive, including the option of a renewable transport fuel obligation. The Government has included permissive clauses in the Energy Bill that would allow the Secretary of State to introduce such an obligation. The Government would consult extensively on the detail with all relevant stakeholders, including the farming community, if an obligation is assessed to be the best way forward.
	We recognise that transport biofuels have potential for UK agriculture and we are keen to develop new market opportunities for farmers.

Slaughterhouses

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many animal welfare personnel there are at slaughterhouses; how many animals have been slaughtered without animal welfare personnel present for each year from 1994 to date; and if she will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: Under the Welfare of Animals (Slaughter or Killing) Regulations 1995, a slaughterhouse occupier must ensure that a competent person is available whenever there are live animals on the premises. This person must have the authority to take whatever action may be necessary to safeguard the welfare of the animals in accordance with the Regulations. The legislation is enforced by Official Veterinary Surgeons of the Meat Hygiene Service in licensed slaughterhouses, and by Veterinary Officers of the State Veterinary Service elsewhere.
	The Regulations do not require the competent person to be physically present at the point of slaughter when animals are being slaughtered or killed. Therefore, there is no data on the number of livestock slaughtered without animal welfare personnel present.

Special Advisers

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many of the reductions in the numbers of civil servants in her Department announced in the comprehensive spending review will be of special advisers.

Alun Michael: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury on 20 July 2004, Official Report, column 190W.

Stewardship Applications

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many stewardship applications have been made in the last (a) quarter, (b) half-year and (c) year for which figures are available, broken down by county; and if she will make a statement.

Alun Michael: There is an annual application period for the Countryside Stewardship Scheme. 2,056 applications were received during the period, which closed on 31 March 2004. This total includes applications for the renewal of agreements coming to an end in 2004. A breakdown by county is not currently available.

Timber

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what advice will be given to non-departmental public bodies regarding the use of the Central Point of Expertise on Timber.

Elliot Morley: Central Government departments are responsible for communicating Government policy and related information to the non-departmental public bodies they sponsor. I expect whatever information on a central point of expertise on timber (CPET) is communicated to central departments to be passed on by those departments to the bodies they sponsor if those bodies purchase timber or products made from timber.
	The CPET Phase 1 contract will result in revised guidance being issued to central departments. This contract is expected to be completed in September 2004.

Timber

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans there are to make the services of the Central Point of Expertise on Timber available to local authorities.

Elliot Morley: The Government's plan is that all UK public sector bodies and their suppliers will have access to guidance published by the Central Point of Expertise on Timber Procurement (CPET). Furthermore, plans are being formulated for the CPET to operate a help line service that would be available to all UK public sector bodies. Implementation of these plans has cost implications that will be subject to resource availability and this will be reviewed in the autumn of 2004.

Timber

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what guidance will be produced by the Central Point of Expertise on Timber; how it will be distributed to Government departments; and if she will make a statement.

Elliot Morley: The Central Point of Expertise on Timber Phase 1 is: (a) reviewing existing guidance to establish robust contract definitions for legal and sustainable timber; (b) devising a methodology for assessing whether individual certification schemes meet UK Government requirements for identifying legal and sustainable timber and (c) undertaking such assessments for five certification schemes. This work will result in revised guidance that will be communicated by email to heads of procurement and environmental managers in central Government departments, to the devolved administrations and to the Improvement Development Agency. In addition the revised guidance will be published on a CPET web site that will be publicised by a press release. Future phases of the CPET service will build on this work and it is expected that a similar communication strategy will be adopted.

Timber

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what guidance will be issued to Government departments regarding the use of the Central Point of Expertise on Timber.

Elliot Morley: Central Government departments will be advised to apply guidance published under the name of the Central Point of Expertise on Timber (CPET) when they identify a need to procure timber or products derived from timber and to follow that guidance throughout the procurement process. When the CPET is operating a help line service departments will be advised to use that service whenever they or their suppliers encounter difficulties acquiring their timber and timber products from legal and sustainable sources or are in any doubt over claims made by suppliers in that respect. Departments will also be advised to avail themselves of any other services that the CPET may provide, including, for example, training workshops for procurement personnel.

Timber

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her plans are for phase two of the Central Point of Expertise on Timber; how it will be funded; and over what time period it will run.

Elliot Morley: Building on the foundations laid through Phase 1 of the Central Point of Expertise on Timber (CPET), the Government plan to commission further services as follows:
	Assessment of certification scheme bodies not covered by CPET Phase 1;
	Development of criteria to evaluate the suitability of suppliers' assurance that is not based on certification schemes and provision of guidance for procurement officers, facilities managers, estate managers, architects and suppliers;
	Consultations with certification scheme bodies and other key stakeholders on the application of the CPET service and its effect on their operations;
	Provision of guidance, training and education for heads of procurement, buyers and specifiers, e.g. through the website, workshops, voluntary audits and a helpline;
	Raising awareness throughout the supply chain.
	Whether all the services outlined above would be covered by CPET Phase 2 has yet to be decided. That decision will depend on resource availability. The CPET is a new concept and investment has to be soundly based. The full CPET service is being created in phases so that experience gained can be applied to future development. The detailed plans and resource allocation for Phase 2 will be considered in the autumn of 2004 with a decision expected by the end of November 2004. The resource implications of expanding the CPET client base beyond central Government buyers will need careful consideration. The extent to which a CPET could generate income from fees, sponsorship and other commercial activities is one of a number of options that will be investigated.

Timber

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the estimated costs are of (a) establishing and (b) running for the first 12 months the Central Point of Expertise on Timber.

Elliot Morley: To establish the Central Point of Expertise on Timber Procurement to operate a wide range of services as originally envisaged and run those services for a year is estimated to cost in the region of £300,000 in total.

Waste Disposal

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the total volume of (a) domestic, (b) commercial and (c) other waste was in each region in each year since 2001–02; what this represents (i) per head of population and (ii) broken down by the proportion of waste (A) sent to landfill, (B) incinerated and (C) disposed of by other means.

Elliot Morley: Information on domestic waste from the Defra Municipal Waste Management Survey
	for 2001–02 and 2002–03, split by Government region is shown as follows:
	
		
			  Household waste Tonnes (Thousand) Kilogrammes  (Per head) Landfilled (Percentage) Incinerated (Percentage) Other (Percentage) 
		
		
			 2001–02  
			 North East 1,313 521 78 16 7 
			 North West 3,846 568 86 2 11 
			 Yorkshire and The Humber 2,516 506 84 4 12 
			 East Midlands 2,183 522 77 6 16 
			 West Midlands 2,664 504 57 32 12 
			 East 2,809 520 80 1 18 
			 London 3,411 467 73 20 8 
			 South East 4,227 527 79 0 21 
			 South West 2,584 523 81 0 19 
			 England 25,554 583 77 9 14 
			 2002–03  
			 North East 1,376 548 76 14 10 
			 North West 3,935 581 84 3 14 
			 Yorkshire and The Humber 2,525 506 79 7 14 
			 East Midlands 2,214 525 77 6 17 
			 West Midlands 2,694 508 54 32 14 
			 East 2,820 520 79 1 20 
			 London 3,379 459 71 20 9 
			 South East 4,249 529 76 0 23 
			 South West 2,625 529 78 0 22 
			 England 25,819 521 75 9 16 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Totals and percentages might not add up due to founding.
	2. Household disposal methods estimated from published municipal totals.
	The latest year for which full information on industrial and commercial waste is available is 1998–99, from the Environment Agency's National Waste Production Survey, Strategic Waste Management Information for England and Wales. Results can be found at: www.environment-agency.gov.uk
	Information on construction and demolition waste is available from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, Survey of Arisings and Use of Construction and Demolition Waste in England and Wales in 2001, published in October 2002. Results can be found at: www.odpm.gov.uk

Water and Sewerage Services

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the average monthly cost to consumers is of (a) water services and (b) sewerage services in each water supply area (i) in total and (ii) broken down by those who were (A) metered and (B) unmetered in 2003–04.

Elliot Morley: Water bills and sewerage bills are set separately by each water and sewerage company and water company in England and Wales.
	The average monthly costs to household consumers of water and sewerage services in each supply area in total and broken down into metered and unmetered customers in 2003–04 are set out in the following table.
	
		Average monthly cost in 2003–04 -- £
		
			  Water Sewerage 
			 Company Measured Unmeasured Total Measured Unmeasured Total 
		
		
			 Anglian 8 11 10 11 16 13 
			 Dwr Cymru 7 11 10 7 14 13 
			 United Utilities 9 10 10 9 11 10 
			 Northumbrian/Essex and Suffolk 7 9 8 — — — 
			 Northumbrian 6 8 8 9 10 10 
			 Essex and Suffolk 7 11 10 — — — 
			 Severn Trent 8 10 9 8 9 8 
			 South West 8 12 10 13 23 18 
			 Southern 7 8 8 11 14 13 
			 Thames 8 9 9 8 8 8 
			 Wessex 8 11 10 10 13 12 
			 Yorkshire/York 8 10 9 — — — 
			 Yorkshire 8 10 9 8 10 10 
			 York 6 8 8 — — — 
			 Bournemouth and W. Hampshire 7 9 8 — — — 
			 Bristol 8 9 9 — — — 
			 Cambridge 7 8 8 — — — 
			 Cholderton 15 12 12 — — — 
			 Dee Valley 6 10 9 — — — 
			 Folkestone and Dover 9 13 11 — — — 
			 Mid Kent 9 11 11 — — — 
			 Portsmouth 7 6 6 — — — 
			 South East 9 11 10 — — — 
			 South Staffs 7 7 7 — — — 
			 Sutton and East Surrey 9 11 10 — — — 
			 Tendring Hundred 11 16 13 — — — 
			 Three Valleys/North Surrey 8 10 10 — — — 
			 Three Valleys 8 10 10 — — — 
			 North Surrey 8 10 9 — — — 
			 Industry average 8 10 9 10 11 10 
		
	
	Level of average bills for 2003–04 are based on estimated data provided by each company.

Wheat

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the price of wheat.

Alun Michael: Wheat prices rose sharply last year as a response to the lower than expected harvest in central and southern Europe, but have since fallen to more normal levels in response to the gradual improvement in the supply situation and forecasts for the level of the harvest in 2004. In this immediate pre-harvest period, there is a certain amount of price volatility as old stocks are run down and the trade waits for more certainty about the availability and quality of the new harvest. Quotes for feed wheat currently range from £88.50-tonne spot July to £65.50-tonne at harvest.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Appeals Service (Liverpool)

Peter Kilfoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has for changes to the Appeals Service office in Liverpool.

Chris Pond: This is a matter for Christina Townsend, Chief Executive of the Appeals Service. She will write to the hon. Member.
	Letter from Christina Townsend to Mr. Peter Kilfoyle, dated 22 July 2004
	The Secretary of State has asked me to respond to your question regarding planned changes to the Appeals Service in Liverpool.
	The Appeals Service is currently considering a number of proposals about its current organisation.
	No decisions have yet been made on how many operating sites the Appeals Service will have in the future. However, agreement has been reached with the Pensions Service to take over their Burnley site which it is planned will be a future operating centre.
	I hope this reply is helpful.

Automated Payments

Bill Tynan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on how many occasions in the last year automated payments of benefits and pensions have been delayed; for how long payments were delayed; and what recompense was offered to recipients for the delay.

Chris Pond: There have been four occasions in the last year when automated payments of benefits have been paid late to DWP customers. Some disability living allowance customers received their payment two banking days late on one occasion, and one banking day late on another. The other occasions delayed payments to some jobseeker's allowance customers and income support customers by one banking day. Departmental policy provides a scheme for financial redress for maladministration. This scheme is available to consider ex-gratia payments for customers who face financial inconvenience or distress because of late payments. This is dependent on the individual circumstances of the case.

Benefit Fraud

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average weekly amount of (a) housing benefit fraud and (b) council tax benefit fraud was (i) in total and (ii) for each local authority, detected under the Security Against Fraud and Error scheme in 2002–03.

Chris Pond: For local authorities, the Weekly Benefit Saving (WBS) scheme was replaced by the Security Against Fraud and Error (SAFE) scheme on 1 April 2002. Unlike WBS which recorded fraud only, the SAFE scheme records fraud and error.
	The average weekly amount of housing benefit fraud and error detected under the SAFE scheme for 2002–03 was £52.52 and the average weekly amount of council tax benefit fraud and error detected under the SAFE scheme for 2002–03 was £11.97.
	The available information about the average weekly amount of housing benefit and council tax benefit fraud and error for local authorities has been placed in the Library.

Benefit Fraud

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many calls were received by the National Benefit Fraud Hotline in 2003–04; and how many (a) investigations, (b) prosecutions and (c) convictions resulted.

Chris Pond: The information is in the table.
	
		National Benefit Fraud Hotline
		
			 April 2003 to March 2004 Total 
		
		
			 Number of calls received 211,054 
			 Investigations 44,127 
			 Prosecutions 672 
			 Convictions 619 
		
	
	Note:
	Some convictions may relate to prosecutions from previous years.
	Source:
	National Benefit Fraud Hotline and Fraud Information by Sector system

Benefit Fraud

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many cases of benefit fraud were detected in 2003–04; and how many of these resulted in (a) prosecutions and (b) convictions.

Chris Pond: The number of cases of benefit fraud detected is not available. The number of cases resulting in prosecution and cases resulting in conviction is in the table.
	
		2003–04
		
			  DWP Local authorities 
		
		
			 Prosecutions 9,204 4,601 
			 Convictions 9,091 3,747 
		
	
	Note:
	Some convictions may relate to prosecutions from previous years.
	Sources:
	1. DWP—Fraud Information by Sector and National Investigation Service.
	2. Local authorities—local authority subsidy claim forms.

Benefit Fraud

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the (a) operational and (b) advertising costs of the National Benefit Fraud Hotline in 2003–04.

Chris Pond: The operational cost of the National Benefit Fraud Hotline in 2003–04 was £1,038,505. The cost of advertising is not separately assessed.
	Notes:
	1. Since the Targeting Benefit Fraud advertising campaign started in 2003, the NBFH has been included in the campaign advertising and has not been the subject of its own advertising.
	2. Operational costs include staffing and goods and service costs.
	3. The operational costs of administering the NBFH include the costs of administering report-a-cheat-online. These costs cannot be separated.
	Source:
	National Benefit Fraud Hotline (NBFH)

Benefit Fraud

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the recorded benefit fraud savings for (a) his Department and (b) local authorities were in 2003–04.

Chris Pond: The available information is in the table.
	For local authorities, the Weekly Benefit Savings (WBS) scheme was replaced by the Security against Fraud and Error (SAFE) scheme in April 2002, with some local authorities joining in April 2001. Like WBS, the SAFE scheme provides rewards for detected overpayments. However, it provides rewards for the detection of both fraud and claimant error overpayments and it is not possible to identify fraud overpayments separately.
	
		Monetary Value Adjustments (MVA) by DWP in 2003–04
		
			  MVA (£) 
		
		
			 2003–04 14,588,905 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. MVA is the difference between the weekly amount of benefit, which would have been paid or would have continued to be paid and the benefit paid following the decision maker's decision on the information gathered. It includes both increases and decreases.
	2. The figure includes Instrument of Payment (IOP) adjustments
	3. The figure includes adjustments in addition to those attributable to fraud as it is not possible to separate them out.
	Source:
	Fraud Information by Sector and General Matching Service.

Benefit Payment Arrangements

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioners received benefit payments by order book on the latest date for which figures are available; and by what date he expects all pensioners to have transferred to the new system.

Chris Pond: There were 5,270,170 order book accounts held by pensioners, live and in payment from the latest data available at 17 April 2004. Payments due from March 2005 will be made by a different method of payment.

Benefit Processing Centres

Alice Mahon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  if he will list the locations, broken down by parliamentary constituencies, of all the offices identified in his announcement on 29 June relating to the centralisation of benefit processing centres;
	(2)  if he will list the locations, broken down by parliamentary constituencies, of each of the proposed benefit processing centres referred to in his announcement on 29 June; and within what timescale decisions on the locations of the remaining benefit processing centres will be made;
	(3)  what the proposed timescale is for carrying out the centralisation of benefit processing referred to in his announcement on 29 June.

Maria Eagle: The offices impacted by the announcement on 29 June were the ten pension centres referred to in the following table, together with details of the constituency in which each is located:
	
		
			 Office Constituency 
		
		
			 Burnley Pension Centre Burnley 
			 Derby Pension Centre Derby South 
			 Liverpool Pension Centre Liverpool Walton 
			 Norwich (Baltic House) Pension Centre Norwich South 
			 Nottingham Pension Centre Nottingham South 
			 Plymouth Pension Centre Plymouth, Devonport 
			 Stockton Pension Centre Stockton South 
			 Wolverhampton Pension Centre Wolverhampton South West 
			 Wrexham Pension Centre Wrexham 
			 York Pension Centre Ryedale 
		
	
	Of the 10 sites identified, six will become part of the Jobcentre Plus Network predominantly as benefit processing centres. These are Derby, Norwich (Baltic house) Nottingham, Wolverhampton, Stockton and Wrexham.
	The plans for the remaining pension centres are being developed and we are looking for opportunities to transfer estate and people to other parts of the department, other Government Departments or the private sector. I will inform the House as soon as plans are final and firm decisions are made.
	The announcement also signalled the intention of Jobcentre Plus to begin centralising their processing work—moving from a large number of dispersed sites nationally to a smaller number of larger sites.
	Detailed planning work is currently underway to determine the number and location of these sites. I will report these locations when planning is complete. The centralisation of benefit processing will be implemented in a rolling programme for completion by 2008 at the latest.

Child Support Agency

John Lyons: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will require the Child Support Agency to copy to hon. Members' letters which it sends to constituents whose cases hon. Members have taken up with the Agency.

Chris Pond: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive, Mr. Doug Smith. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	Letter from Doug Smith to Mr. John Lyons, dated 22 July 2004
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary question about the Child Support Agency the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will require the Child Support Agency to copy to hon. Members letters which it sends to constituents whose cases hon. Members have taken up with the Agency.
	The Agency wishes to understand and where possible to meet the needs of Members of Parliament. It does not automatically copy to Members letters which it sends to constituents whose cases Members have taken up with the Agency. It will carefully consider any such request on a case by case basis.

Child Support Agency

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Strathkelvin and Bearsden (Mr. Lyons) of 7 July 2004, Official Report, column 758W, on the Child Support Agency, for what reasons cases have been moved from the old to the new computer system; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Pond: Cases will move from the old to the new computer system if they are linked to a case in the new child support scheme. Some cases will subsequently convert to the new scheme. These will include, for example, cases where a non-resident parent who already has an old scheme assessment is also the non-resident parent in relation to a new scheme application.
	It would neither be fair nor workable for people to have a liability under two different schemes, so it is best to move these linked cases onto the new scheme together.

Child Support Agency

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the projected costs are of closing the Basingstoke Child Support Agency office; and how long he expects it will take to recover those costs.

Chris Pond: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive, Mr. Doug Smith. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	Letter from Doug Smith to Mr. Mike Hancock, dated 22 July 2004
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary question about the Child Support Agency the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the projected costs are of closing the Basingstoke Child Support Agency office; and how long he expects it will take to recover those costs.
	We are currently engaging elsewhere in the Department for Work and Pensions and with other Government Departments to consider potential re-deployment opportunities. Until that work is complete we will not take a final decision on the closure of the Basingstoke site and are thus unable to finalise the business case and therefore the associated costs.

Child Support Agency

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has to re-deploy staff when the Basingstoke Child Support Agency office closes.

Chris Pond: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive, Mr. Doug Smith. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	Letter from Doug Smith to Mr. Mike Hancock, dated 22 July 2004
	In reply to your recent parliamentary question about the Child Support Agency the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans he has to re-deploy staff when the Basingstoke Child Support Agency office closes. The Agency developed a Redeployment Plan that is being shared with the relevant trade unions. As part of that, we are engaging elsewhere within the Department for Work and Pensions and with other Government Departments to establish potential re-deployment options. Alongside this all staff in Basingstoke have been seen to establish their preferences. Additional skilled staff have been allocated to support this activity.

Child Support Agency

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what organisations he consulted and what representations he has received from (a) the local council and (b) other interested bodies on the proposal to close the Basingstoke Child Support Agency office.

Chris Pond: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive, Mr. Doug Smith. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	Letter from Doug Smith to Mr. Mike Hancock, dated 22 July 2004
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary question about the Child Support Agency the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what organisations he consulted and what representations he has received from (a) the local council and (b) other interested bodies on the proposal to close the Basingstoke Child Support Agency office.
	A public consultation commencing on 19 June 2003, formed part of the Lyons Review. It created a total of 207 responses, of which, 105 came from Local Authorities and 11 from interested parties. A full list of consultation respondents can be found in the Lyons Report (appendix 2), along with details of the representations made.
	The Agency is committed to a policy of open communications with its staff. It therefore told people of its intention to cease its operations in Basingstoke at the earliest opportunity. Formal consultation is now taking place with staff and trade unions. We are currently engaging elsewhere in the Department for Work and Pensions and with other Government Departments to consider potential redeployment opportunities. Until that work is complete we will not take a final decision on the closure of the Basingstoke site. No representations have been received from the local council or any other interested body other than the Public and Commercial Services Union.

Child Support Agency

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether a business case has been drawn up to support the closure of the Child Support Agency office in Basingstoke; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Pond: holding answer 15 July 2004
	The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive, Mr. Doug Smith. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	Letter from Doug Smith to Mr. John McDonnell, dated 22 July 2004
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary question about the Child Support Agency the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether a business case has been drawn up to support the closure of the Child Support Agency office in Basingstoke; and if he will make a statement.
	Our intention is to maximise the deployment of staff elsewhere in the Department for Work and Pensions. We are currently in discussions with colleagues elsewhere in the Department and until these discussions are complete no final decision on the closure of the Basingstoke site will be taken. No business case can be finalised until we have been able to quantify those alternative opportunities.

Child Support Agency

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what consultation was undertaken before the announcement of the closure of the Child Support Agency office in Basingstoke.

Chris Pond: holding answer 15 July 2004
	The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive, Mr. Doug Smith. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	Letter from Doug Smith to Mr. John McDonnell, dated 22 July 2004
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary question about the Child Support Agency the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what consultation was undertaken before the announcement of the closure of the Child Support Agency office in Basingstoke.
	The Agency is committed to a policy of open communications with its staff. It therefore told people of its intention to cease its operations in Basingstoke at the earliest opportunity. Formal consultation is now taking place with staff and trade unions. Our intention is to maximise the deployment of staff elsewhere in the Department for Work and Pensions. We are currently in discussions with colleagues elsewhere in the Department. Until these discussions are complete no final decision on the closure of the Basingstoke site will be taken.

Child Support Agency

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what options have been considered as alternatives to the closure of the Basingstoke Child Support Agency office.

Chris Pond: holding answer 15 July 2004
	The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive, Mr. Doug Smith. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	Letter from Doug Smith to Mr. John McDonnell, dated 22 July 2004
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary question about the Child Support Agency the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what options have been considered as alternatives to the closure of the Basingstoke Child Support Agency office.
	We are charged with reducing the size of our estate based on an expectation of a significant reduction in headcount. Basingstoke falls within the geographic region covered by the Lyons Review and we have accepted the findings of this review. We are intending to move the Agency's operations from Basingstoke in line with the review and a direct alternative was not therefore considered.

Child Tax Credit

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the number of families in receipt of income support and income-based jobseeker's allowance, also receiving full council tax benefit and assistance with mortgage interest payments, that will migrate to child tax credit.

Chris Pond: As at February 2004, there were 54,000 families receiving income support or income-based jobseeker's allowance, and also receiving assistance with their mortgage interest payments; all of whom will migrate to child tax credit in due course.
	There is no comparable data from which to determine the number that also receive council tax benefit; however, it is likely that the majority of these families will receive council tax benefit.
	Notes:
	1. Figures are based on a 5 per cent. sample and are therefore subject to sampling variation.
	2. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 100.

Child Tax Credit

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  if he will estimate how many individuals have experienced a drop in their income as a result of migrating to the child tax credit from income support and jobseeker's allowance;
	(2)  how many interviews his Department has conducted to help to secure the position of those who have been floated off income support and jobseeker's allowance as a result of their benefits being passported to the child tax credit; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Pond: The information is not available.
	To date there have been 3,658 interviews recorded with families likely to float off income support or jobseeker's allowance.

Civil Partnerships Bill

Chris Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what savings on income-related benefits he anticipates making once the Civil Partnerships Bill is introduced for, and the living together test extended to, same-sex couples.

Maria Eagle: If the Civil Partnership Bill is enacted same-sex couples, whether they have formed a civil partnership or are living together as civil partners, will be treated in the same way as opposite-sex couples in the income-related benefits. It is possible that DWP will realise some savings as a result.
	There is very little information about the number of same-sex couples in this country. The Labour Force Survey suggests that there are about 50,000 cohabiting same-sex couples in the UK, very few of whom are pensioners.
	However, there is likely to be some under-reporting, because individuals' reluctance to disclose information about their personal circumstances. Further, the Department does not have any statistical information about individuals currently receiving income related benefits who are cohabiting with someone of the same sex. Savings are, therefore, difficult to assess with any degree of confidence and it has not been possible to include estimates in the Regulatory Impact Assessment of the Civil Partnership Bill.

Sutton Disability Benefits Centre

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of how changes in civil service numbers announced by the Chancellor in his statement on the Spending Review will affect the Sutton Disability Benefit Centre.

Maria Eagle: The Department's contribution to Sir Michael Lyons's Review of Public Sector Relocation identified work at a number of sites in London and the South East which could be relocated subject to more detailed consideration in each case. Final decisions have yet to be taken about how the Sutton Disability Benefits Centre may be affected.

Civil Service Redundancies

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  whether the proposed job reductions in his Department will be achieved through (a) voluntary and (b) compulsory redundancies;
	(2)  what the timescale is for job reductions in his Department;
	(3)  if his Department will take part in cross-departmental negotiations concerning civil servant job losses to ensure that past and future job losses do not fall disproportionately on any individual community.

Maria Eagle: Following the Spending Review announcement, detailed business and staffing plans continue to be developed across all parts of the Department in order to manage the overall reduction of 30,000 posts over the four years to March 2008.
	At this stage of planning it is too early to quantify the likely number of voluntary or compulsory redundancies. Compulsory redundancies, if required, will be a last resort after all other options have been considered.
	The Department is fully engaged with the Cabinet Office to ensure cross Government co-ordination of staff redeployment and surplus management activity is effectively managed.

Civil Service Redundancies

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what contingency plans are in place to ensure that his Department's staffing levels are sufficient to cope with an increase in unemployment; and whether a need for additional staff would be met from the (a) public and (b) private sectors.

Maria Eagle: The Department's workforce strategy and planned staffing levels take account of key economic assumptions provided by HM Treasury. The current assumptions suggest that unemployment levels will remain static over the next four years.
	The Department's workforce strategy will be kept under review to account for any changes in these economic assumptions and the potential impact on staffing requirements in particular parts of the Department.

Civil Service Redundancies

Alan Meale: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what the estimated number of Civil Service jobs expected to be lost to the Department arising from the Spending Review is;
	(2)  which local offices are included in his Department's closure programme arising out of the Spending Review; and what the timetable for closures is.

Maria Eagle: As announced in the Spending Review, the Department proposes to realise a net reduction of 30,000 posts by March 2008.
	Detailed business and staffing plans continue to be developed across all parts of the Department in order to manage the proposed reductions. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State issued a written statement on 29 June 2004, Official Report, columns 8–9WS, outlining the first phase of this transformation. We will inform the House as further planning decisions are made.

Communicating Difficult Messages

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will place in the Library a copy of the memorandum to his Department's offices entitled Best Practice in Communicating Difficult Messages.

Jane Kennedy: The document requested has been placed in the Library.
	The Best Practice in Communicating Difficult Messages document was produced in-house by Jobcentre Plus drawing on good practice from within the communication industry.
	The document was intended to provide brief, and easy to absorb information to support local managers when communicating to their staff about aspects of Jobcentre Plus business which could have an impact on people's jobs.

Community Sentences and Benefits Pilots

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he next expects to be able to report on the results of operational improvements to the community sentences and benefits pilots.

Chris Pond: We have said that the scheme would continue, with operational improvements, for a further year. We will report on the results of the improvements once they have been thoroughly evaluated.

Departmental Accountancy Practice

Richard Bacon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions who the Finance Director of (a) the Department and (b) the Child Support Agency is; what accountancy qualifications each Director holds; and on how many occasions there has been a qualified opinion on (i) the resource accounts and (ii) other accounts of each in the last five years.

Chris Pond: The Finance Director of the DWP is John Codling who is CIPFA qualified. The Finance Director of the Child Support Agency is Jim Edgar who is CIMA qualified.
	The DWP and its predecessor Department, DSS, has had its resource accounts qualified in each of the years since published resource accounts were first produced in 1999–2000. Since the DWP was formed in 2001–02 its resource accounts have been qualified in both 2001–02 and 2002–03 due to:
	significant levels of estimated fraud and error in benefit expenditure recorded in the operating statement;
	weaknesses in the Department's audit trails relating to contributory and non-contributory benefit customer over-payments debtors and the encashment control creditor. The Department has a programme in place to address these long standing system weaknesses.
	The 2003–04 resource accounts will be available later this year.
	Prior to 1999–2000 the Department's accounts were produced on a cash basis and the DSS Vote 1 Account was qualified on the basis of fraud and error since 1990–91 along with the National Insurance Fund Account which was the responsibility of the Department prior to its transfer to the Inland Revenue in 2001–02.
	In the past five years, all other accounts within the Department, with the exception of the Child Support client funds account, have been produced free of a qualified audit opinion.
	The Child Support Agency administration account has never been qualified. The client funds account has been qualified each year due to largely historic errors in the underlying maintenance assessments resulting in misstatements in receipts and payments, and in the maintenance balances outstanding.
	The 2003–04 CSA client fund account will be available later this year.

Departmental Publications

Alan Meale: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many publications his Department has issued over the past three years; and what the print run distributed was in each case;
	(2)  how much the Department spent on departmental publications in the past three years.

Maria Eagle: The Department and its customer-facing businesses produce a wide range of publications, ranging from reports to Parliament, other official documents and research reports through to booklets and leaflets designed to inform the citizen of their rights and responsibilities.
	The detailed information requested is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Publications

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many departmental publications are in storage; and where they are located.

Jane Kennedy: The Department for Work and Pensions had 420 publication titles and a total of 7,307,933 copies in storage at its five main stores on 13 July 2004. Our main stores are a mix of departmental and contractor stores. The two main departmental stores are at Heywood and Beacon Road, Norcross. The three contractor stores are Meads at Nottingham, Belmont Press at Northampton and Astron at Chadderton. Retention and storage of materials at commercial stores are a matter for the Publisher who may rely on the use of on-demand printing facilities to meet the Department's demand.
	In addition small buffer stocks of leaflets and guidance material for our customers are held at about 1,800 offices across our national network.
	A small number of leaflets, associated with major advertising campaigns, are also held for the duration of the campaign by companies who operate campaign response mechanisms for the public.

Departmental Redundancies

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will list the (a) organisations and (b) agencies which his Department will consult before deciding upon the locations for potential job reductions.

Maria Eagle: The detail of where and when staff reductions will happen is still being developed.
	As more information becomes available the department will consult with appropriate public and private sector organisations in the relevant locations as well as our trade unions.

Departmental Redundancies

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what funding has been set aside to retrain staff of his Department that are likely to lose their jobs.

Maria Eagle: Following the Spending Review announcement, detailed business and staffing plans continue to be developed across all parts of the Department in order to manage the reduction of 30,000 posts by March 2008. Until these plans are finalised it is too early to predict the numbers of staff requiring retraining, the exact nature of the training and the level of funding provision required.

Departmental Redundancies

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many jobs it is proposed will be lost in his Department, broken down by pay grade in (a) percentage and (b) actual terms;
	(2)  if he will express the number of proposed job cuts in his Department as a (a) total and (b) percentage of the work force in each region of the UK.

Maria Eagle: Following the Spending Review announcement, detailed business and staffing plans continue to be developed across all parts of the Department in order to manage the reduction of 30,000 posts by March 2008. Until these plans are finalised it is too early to say how the planned reduction in posts will affect each grade in the Department or the percentage reductions in each region.
	The first phase of the plans were announced in a written statement by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State on 29 June 2004, Official Report, columns 8–9WS. Further detailed plans are currently being developed. These plans will enable us to determine how the staffing reductions will be profiled across each Government office region.

Departmental Staff (Wales)

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people were employed by his Department in Wales in each of the last 15 years, broken down by location.

Maria Eagle: Information on staff numbers broken down by location in Wales is not available. Information on the number of staff in Wales as a whole is not available prior to September 2001. Information at that date and each year thereafter is in the following table.
	
		
			 As at 30 September Number 
		
		
			 2001 6,581 
			 2002 7,491 
			 2003 7,697 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Numbers are based on headcount not Whole Time Equivalents.
	2. Numbers are consistent with Cabinet Office definitions other than the inclusion of staff on paid maternity leave.
	3. Numbers are point in time at the date shown.

Disability Living Allowance

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many applications for disability living allowance were initially (a) granted and (b) refused in the last year for which figures are available; and how many of those refused were subsequently allowed after review or appeal.

Maria Eagle: The available information is set out in the table.
	
		Disability living allowance: Numbers of initial awards; claims disallowed; awards increased on review and appeals decided in favour of the appellant: From 1 March 2003 to 29 February 2004
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 Initial Awards(7) 217,300 
			 Claims Disallowed(7) 220,200 
			 Awards increased on review(8) 56,400 
			 Appeals in favour of appellant(9) 37,200 
		
	
	(7) Figures taken from a 100 per cent. sample at 29 February 2004.
	(8) Figures are rounded to the nearest 100.
	(9) Figures taken from 100 per cent. sample at 29 February 2004.
	(10) Figures are rounded to the nearest 100.
	(11) Figures include reconsiderations and supersessions.
	(12) All figures are subject to change as more up to date data becomes available.
	(13) Figures are rounded to the nearest 100.
	Sources:
	1, 2 MIS
	(14) 100 per cent. download of the Generic Appeals Processing System.

Fatal and Major Injury Accidents

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the incidence rate of fatal and major injury incidents was in each of the last seven years.

Jane Kennedy: The incidence rate of fatal and major injuries (per 100,000 employed), reported to all enforcing authorities in the period 1997–98 to 2002–03 is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Employee Self-employed 
			  Fatal injury rate Major injury rate Fatal injury rate Major injury rate 
		
		
			 1996–97 0.9 127.5 2.3 38.4 
			 1997–98 0.9 127.6 1.8 23.3 
			 1998–99 0.8 121.7 1.9 20.3 
			 1999–2000 0.7 116.6 1.7 19.7 
			 2000–01 0.9 110.2 2.4 19.2 
			 2001–02 0.8 110.9 1.3 27.8 
			 2002–03(15) 0.7 113.0 1.3 31.9 
		
	
	(15) Provisional.
	Notes:
	1. Incidence rates are derived from reports made to HSE and local authorities under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR) 1995.
	2. Incidence rates are expressed per hundred thousand employees or self-employed people as appropriate.
	3.The annual basis is the planning year from 1 April to 31 March.
	4. Statistics are those reported to all enforcing authorities.

Formal Child Care (Take-up)

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how he plans to increase the take-up of formal childcare by lower income families.

Jane Kennedy: The Government are committed to helping children in low income families by providing and improving take up of good quality formal childcare. We are working to increase the availability, accessibility, affordability and variety of formal childcare and, importantly, to ensure parents understand the choices open to them.
	We have provided substantial investment via the Sure Start Unit and its predecessors—£4.2 billion invested since 1997 and a further £4.3 billion earmarked in the Spending Review for the period up to 2008—and have broadened the range of childcare opportunities available. For example, we have introduced Extended School Childcare Pilots to provide the childcare lone parents need to enter employment and Childcare Taster Pilots to give lone parents the opportunity to experience formal childcare.
	To further increase parents' knowledge, we have made individual and tailored advice available through the new deal and Jobcentre Plus and as part of the range of services offered by Sure Start Local Programmes and Children's Centres. Meanwhile, Jobcentre Plus has introduced dedicated Childcare Partnership Managers to coordinate Jobcentre Plus's programmes and strategies with local childcare development plans.
	Through tax credits we have made significant improvements to the financial assistance for child care available to working parents—up to £140 a week can be claimed—and have made plans for a voluntary accreditation scheme, extending the types of childcare that parents can receive financial support for. We have also invested in the Support Childminder Scheme, to engage existing childminders in supporting new people, including informal carers, in registering with Ofsted.

Departmental Staffing (Fylde)

Michael Jack: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will list his proposed staffing reductions for each of his Department's areas of responsibility in Fylde, for each year from 2004 to 2008.

Maria Eagle: holding answer 16 July 2004
	Following the announcement in the Budget statement on future departmental staffing levels work has been taking place across the Department to develop detailed business and staffing plans. The first phase of these plans was announced in a statement by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State on 29 June 2004, Official Report, columns 8–9WS. Further detailed plans are currently being developed. These plans will enable us to determine how the staffing reductions will be profiled across each part and location of the Department and its businesses.

Green Minister

John Horam: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on the activities of the Green Minister in the Department in financial year 2003–04.

Jane Kennedy: The Department's Green Minister is Baroness Hollis of Heigham. Baroness Hollis is a member of ENV(G), the Ministerial Sub-Committee of Green Ministers. However, it has been established practice under successive Governments not to disclose information relating to the proceedings of Cabinet Committees.
	The Department actively contributes to the UK Strategy for Sustainable Development through its core objectives to combat poverty and social exclusion and to eliminate child poverty. Baroness Hollis' ministerial role on these issues is interwoven with her Green Minister role.
	During the past year, Baroness Hollis has also been involved in communications with the Treasury to further develop the integration of qualitative assessment into cost benefit analysis. This will allow analyses to better demonstrate social, economic and environmental balance.
	The Department issued its third Sustainable Development Annual Report in the autumn of 2003.

Health and Safety Executive

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many Health and Safety Executive (a) regulatory contacts and (b) investigations were carried out in each of the last seven years.

Jane Kennedy: The numbers of regulatory contacts and investigations carried out by the Health and Safety Executive over the last seven years are as follows.
	
		
			 Report year (April to March) Regulatory contacts Investigations 
		
		
			 1997–98 186,065 33,585 
			 1998–99 183,292 32,200 
			 1999–2000 185,496 35,551 
			 2000–01 192,693 40,774 
			 2001–02 195,695 37,855 
			 2002–03 218,574 34,724 
			 2003–04 206,460 27,816

Health and Safety Executive

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many (a) incidents and (b) complaints were (i) reported to and (ii) investigated by the Health and Safety Executive in each of the last seven years.

Jane Kennedy: Incidents and complaints, reported to and investigated by the Health and Safety Executive are as follows:
	
		
			 Report year(April to March) Incidents reported Complaints reported Incidents investigated Complaints investigated 
		
		
			 1997–98 n/a n/a (16)33,585 
			 1998–99 164,912 29,610 9,400 22,800 
			 1999–2000 160,514 30,901 10,844 24,707 
			 2000–01 164,287 28,933 15,489 25,285 
			 2001–02 156,058 28,021 13,421 24,434 
			 2002–03 142,418 27,554 11,251 23,473 
			 2003–04 (17)n/a 24,404 (18)5,288 22,528 
		
	
	(16) Total.
	(17) Data will be available on 18 November 2004.
	(18) In 2003–04 HSE's target was to investigate 95 per cent. of reported incidents that met its published investigation criteria. In previous years the HSE target was to investigate a percentage of reported incidents (different targets for each year). In 2003–04, HSE achieved its targets for percentage of complaints followed up (plan—90 per cent.; outturn—94.8 per cent.) and incidents investigated (plan—95 per cent.; outturn—97.66 per cent.).

Health and Safety Executive

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many cases of information being laid by the Health and Safety Executive in order to support a prosecution there have been in each of the last seven years.

Jane Kennedy: Over the last seven years the following number of offences have been prosecuted in Great Britain, following investigation by the Health and Safety Executive. Each offence prosecuted represents one information laid or, in Scotland, charge preferred. The information given is publicly available. The 2003–04 figures will be publicly released in the Offences and Penalties Report, due for release in late October 2004.
	
		
			 Year(19) Total offences prosecuted 
		
		
			 1996–97 1,490 
			 1997–98 1,627 
			 1998–99 1,759 
			 1999–2000 2,115 
			 2000–01 1,973 
			 2001–02 1,986 
			 2002–03 1,659 
		
	
	(19) Year refers to operational year, which runs from 1 April to 31 March.

Housing Benefit

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will list the 20 councils with the longest times for processing new housing benefit claims, identifying in each case the average time for processing claims.

Chris Pond: The information is in the table.
	
		20 local authorities with the longest processing times for new claims for housing benefit (HB) and council tax benefit (CTB)
		
			  Average time for processing new claims (calendar days) 
			 Local authority HB CTB HB and CTB 
		
		
			 Bristol 87 90 88 
			 North Ayrshire 79 97 88 
			 Dundee 88 90 89 
			 Flintshire 89 89 89 
			 York 78 108 91 
			 Croydon 83 105 95 
			 East Devon 95 96 96 
			 Mid Suffolk 92 98 96 
			 South Northamptonshire 100 95 97 
			 Torridge 99 96 97 
			 Chelmsford 95 108 101 
			 Lambeth 90 122 104 
			 Renfrewshire 92 115 104 
			 Portsmouth 103 112 107 
			 Leicester 106 122 114 
			 Manchester 137 89 115 
			 Merthyr Tydfil — — 118 
			 Hackney 114 134 123 
			 Liverpool 183 152 167 
			 Swale 182 203 193 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Four local authorities did not supply data for 2003–04.
	2. It is not possible to differentiate the housing benefit/council tax benefit data from Merthyr Tydfil.
	3. The data are taken from un-audited returns by local authorities to DWP, and are the most recent quarterly data they have returned for 2003–04.

Housing Benefit

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many councils are (a) meeting and (b) not meeting the Government's target for handling new housing benefit claims within 14 days.

Chris Pond: The Department for Work and Pensions does not set a target of 14 days for deciding new claims; the regulations require a claim to be decided within 14 days of the relevant information having been received or as soon as reasonably practicable thereafter. The Department launched national Performance Standards in April 2002, which set a standard of 90 per cent. of new housing benefit claims to be decided in 14 days, but these are not mandatory. In the fourth quarter of 2003–04 (the most recent data available) the national average performance was 75 per cent. of new claims decided within 14 days with 23 per cent. of local authorities currently meeting or exceeding the 90 per cent. standard.
	In order to improve this performance the Benefit Fraud Inspectorate targets its inspections on those authorities that have the longest processing times. We also provide every local authority chief executive with information as to how they compare against national standards and performance.

Job Centre Plus

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions which towns in North Wales have Job Centre Plus offices; and when Job Centre Plus will be rolled out in Rhyl.

Jane Kennedy: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, David Anderson. He will write to the hon. Member.
	Letter from David Anderson to Mr. Chris Ruane, dated 22 July 2004
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question concerning the rollout of Jobcentre Plus in North Wales. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	It may be helpful if I explain that the introduction of the Jobcentre Plus model across North Wales is being undertaken in a staged process, which should be completed by March 2006. We have already introduced the new service in our North West Wales and Powys District, and there are Jobcentre Plus Offices in Amlwch, Bangor, Caernarfon, Dolgellau, Holyhead, Llangefni, Porthmadog and Pwllheli.
	I am aware that the District Manager for Wrexham and North Wales Coast, which covers Rhyl, wrote to you on 5 April, outlining his initial service delivery plans.
	There are presently a mixture of Jobcentres and Social Security Offices in Cefn Mawr, Colwyn Bay, Conwy, Denbigh, Flint, Holywell, Llangollen, Llanrwst, Llandudno, Mold, Prestatyn, Rhyl, Shotton and Wrexham. However, plans for the rollout of the new integrated service have not yet been finalised.
	The recent announcement that Wrexham Pension Centre will transfer to Jobcentre Plus, along with our decision to centralise benefit processing into larger units to help deliver our demanding efficiency agenda, are all factors that will need to be taken into account before plans can be finalised.
	At this stage, I am therefore unable to give a specific date for the introduction of the integrated Jobcentre Plus service in Rhyl. However, as the position becomes clearer, the District Manager for Wrexham and North Wales Coast, will keep you fully informed of developments.
	I hope this is helpful.

Special Advisers

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many of the reductions in the numbers of civil servants in his Department announced in the comprehensive spending review will be of special advisers.

Maria Eagle: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Chief Secretary to the Treasury on 20 July 2004, Official Report, column 190W.

New Deal

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many participants have been through (a) the New Deal for the over -50s and (b) the New Deal for Partners to date; and what percentage moved into jobs in each case.

Jane Kennedy: To the end of March 2004, there have been a total of 7,820 starts to the New Deal for Partners and a total of 1,870 jobs (24 per cent. of total starts) have been gained through the programme.
	Figures on the number of people participating in New Deal 50-plus are not available.
	Up to March 2003, job outcomes for New Deal 50-plus were based on the number of people taking up the New Deal 50-plus Employment Credit. Between April 2000, when New Deal 50 Plus started, and March 2003, there were 98,040 employment credit starts. Figures for the number of people finding jobs through New Deal 50-plus but not receiving the employment credit are not available.
	In April 2003, the employment credit was replaced by the 50-plus return to work element of the working tax credit. We are currently working with the Inland Revenue to secure robust data on how many people have claimed this. However, between April 2003 and December 2003, 19,970 people returned to work thanks to Jobcentre Plus and the New Deal.

New Deal

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people have participated in New Deal 50-plus in each year since it was introduced; how many have found a job as a result; and how many have received a weekly employment credit.

Jane Kennedy: Figures on the number of people participating in New Deal 50-plus are not available.
	Up to March 2003, job outcomes for New Deal 50-plus were based on the number of people taking up the New Deal 50-plus Employment Credit. These figures are in the table.
	
		New Deal 50-plus Employment Credit starts
		
			  Number(20) 
		
		
			 April 2000 to December 2000 24,830 
			 January 2001 to December 2001 35,080 
			 January 2002 to December 2002 31,830 
			 January 2003 to March 2003 6,300 
		
	
	(20) Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.
	Note:
	ND50+ Employment Credit started in April 2000 and was replaced by the 50 plus return to work element of Working Tax Credit in April 2003.

Non-departmental Public Bodies

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many non-departmental public bodies for which his Department is responsible have been (a) established and (b) abolished since 1997.

Maria Eagle: The information is in the table
	
		Non-departmental public bodies sponsored by the Departmentfor Work and Pensions which have been (a) establishedand (b) abolished since 1997
		
			 Body Date established Date abolished 
		
		
			 Occupational Pension Board (OPB)(21) — 1 April 1997 
			
			 Central Adjudication Services (CAS)(21) — 1 November 1999 
			
			 Independent Tribunal Service (ITS)(22) — 31 March 2000 
			 Incorporating:   
			 Medical Appeal Tribunals   
			 Disability Appeal Tribunals   
			 Vaccine Damage Appeal Tribunals   
			 Social Security Appeal  Tribunals   
			 Child Support Appeal Tribunals   
			
			 New Deal Task Force (NDTF)(23) July 1997 October 2001 
			 Advisory Committee for Disabled People in Employment Training (ACDET)(24) 1 April 1998 31 March 2002 
			
			 Race Education and Employment Forum (REEF)(24) 1 April 1998 1 April 2003 
			
			 Disability Rights Commission (DRC)(24) 1 April 2000 — 
			
			 Appeals Service(22) 3 April 2000 — 
			
			 National Employment Panel (NEP)(23) October 2001 — 
			
			 Disability Employment Advisory Committee (DEAC)(25) 1 August 2002 — 
		
	
	(21) This body was originally established by the Department of Social Security, which became the Department for Work and Pensions in June 2001. The new Department was formed by bringing together the Department of Social Security and the Employment Services, which prior to this machinery of government change was part of the Department for Education and Employment (now the Department for Education and Skills).
	(22) Originally established by the Department of Social Security, the ITS tribunals were replaced by the Appeals Service in April 2000. The Appeals Service consists of two distinct bodies within a single organisation. The first is a tribunal non-departmental public body with responsibility for the judicial functioning of appeals tribunals. The second is an executive agency responsible for the administration of appeals.
	(23) Originally established by the Department for Education and Employment, the New Deal Task Force's name was changed to the National Employment Panel and its remit expanded by the Department for Work and Pensions in 2001.
	(24) This body was originally established by the Department for Education and Employment, but responsibility moved to the Department for Work and Pensions when the new Department was formed in 2001.
	(25) Established by the Department for Work and Pensions.

Work Incentives (Homeless Households)

Oona King: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to his answer of 28 June 2004, Official Report, column 88W, on work incentives (homeless households), what assessment his Department has made of the impact high rents in temporary accommodation have on the ability of homeless households to access employment opportunities; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Pond: Recent research undertaken by the Department with Registered Social Landlords, statutory and voluntary agencies and other stakeholders in local authorities, suggested that high rents in temporary accommodation can act as a disincentive to tenants re-entering employment.
	We plan to publish this research in the autumn.

Pensions and Benefits (Direct Payments)

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to his answer of 20 April 2004, ref 165353, and his letters to the hon. Member for Portsmouth, South undated and dated 29 March, refs PQ/03/98099 and PQ/03/97277, 
	(1)  if he will explain the differences between the figures given;
	(2)  when he will answer the question of 21 April from the hon. Member for Portsmouth, South, ref 168643, about figures provided by his Department.

Chris Pond: I regret that discrepancies between the figures arose because of errors in the terminology used. A claimant can have several payment accounts, each for a separate benefit; therefore the total number of accounts in Portsmouth South will exceed the number of claimants. The answers to the earlier questions did not correctly distinguish between account numbers and claimant numbers.
	The following information is the full set of correct figures relevant to the three earlier questions. This corrects the information given in written answers on 24 February 2004, Official Report, column 197W and column 202W, and on 20 April 2004, Official Report, columns 443–44W.
	
		Retirement pension accounts in Portsmouth, South constituency
		
			 As at December Payments direct into bank/building society accounts Payable order Payments through post office 
		
		
			 2002 6,375 110 7,775 
			 2003 6,945 90 6,825 
		
	
	
		Other benefit accounts held by pensioners in Portsmouth, South constituency (excluding war pension)
		
			 As at December Payments into bank/building society accounts Payable order Payments through post office 
		
		
			 2002 1,490 0 3,275 
			 2003 2,240 0 3,355 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Payable orders are sent to the customer's home address but must be produced for payment at a bank or building society.
	2. Included in payment through the post office are customers paid into post office card accounts and customers paid by girocheque. Girocheques are either encashable at a post office or payable into a bank or building society account.
	3. The account figures in Table One and Two above exclude war pension and child benefit customers as these accounts are the responsibility of the Ministry of Defence and Inland Revenue respectively.
	4. Some customers who are paid direct into an account can also collect their payments in cash at post offices through the wider range of banking services now available at post offices. There is no data available on the umber of benefit claims collected in this way.
	5. The number of pensioners receiving one or more DWP benefits (including war pension) collectable at post offices in Portsmouth south at 28 December 2002 was £9,935.

Pension Credit

Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of pension credit payments are being paid into Post Office card accounts.

Jane Kennedy: At 30 June the number of live pension credit accounts was 2,548,895, of which 198,230 or 7.8 per cent. were paid to a Post Office card account. Of the total, 893,835 were not previously receiving minimum income guarantee. Of these cases, 40,110, or 4.5 per cent. were being paid to a Post Office card account.

Pension Credit

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people eligible for pension credit have not taken it up in each month since October 2003; and how much money this represents in each case.

Malcolm Wicks: The information is not available in the form requested. The table sets out numbers of pension credit recipients in each month between October 2003 and June 2004, with the average weekly award. We estimate that approximately 3.75 million households, corresponding to around 4.85 million individuals, are likely to be eligible for pension credit in Great Britain in 2004–05. This estimate, rounded to the nearest 50,000 households or individuals, is subject to a wide margin of error and should be used as a broad indication of the likely eligible population only.
	To help ensure that people do not lose out, entitlement to pension credit can, where appropriate, be backdated by up to 12 months.
	
		Pension credit recipients, Great Britain, October 2003to June 2004
		
			  Households Individuals Average weekly award (£) 
		
		
			 October 2003 1,795,875 2,109,200 47.10 
			 November 2003 2,056,010 2,454,640 46.40 
			 December 2003 2,115,195 2,533,960 44.20 
			 January 2004 2,172,280 2,610,450 43.50 
			 February 2004 2,264,115 2,731,480 42.60 
			 March 2004 2,401,850 2,907,775 41.34 
			 April 2004 2,445,660 2,961,885 41.67 
			 May 2004 2,496,970 3,028,390 42.42 
			 June 2004 2,548,895 3,094,870 41.99 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. October 2003 figures are as at 17 October 2003. Figures from November 2003 to June 2004 are mid-monthly and have been rated up to give month end estimates.
	2. Figures are rounded to the nearest 5.
	3. Individual recipients include a number of partners under age 60.

Pension Credit

Parmjit Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many pensioners are estimated to be eligible for the pension credit in Leicester South;
	(2)  how many pensioners are claiming the pension credit in Leicester South.

Malcolm Wicks: Information on the number of people likely to be eligible for pension credit is not available at constituency level. However, we estimate that approximately 250,000 households in the East Midlands region, corresponding to approximately 350,000 individuals (rounded to the nearest 50,000), are likely to be eligible for pension credit in 2004–05. At the end of June, 5,135 pensioner households in Leicester South, comprising 6,415 individuals (rounded to the nearest five), were in receipt of pension credit. The corresponding figures for the East Midlands at the same date were 182,570 households and 224,435 individuals in receipt of pension credit.

Pension Credit

Sally Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioners in Northampton, North have received home visits from the Pension Service to assist them with claiming pension credit.

Malcolm Wicks: The table shows the number of home visits undertaken by the local service of the Pension Service in the Northampton local service cluster, which includes both Northampton, North and Northampton, South, between April 2003 and June 2004. All visits undertaken since April 2003 have covered pension credit.
	
		Home visits by the Pension Service local service, Northampton cluster, April 2003-June 2004
		
			  Number of visits 
		
		
			 2003  
			 April 120 
			 May 117 
			 June 150 
			 July 171 
			 August 148 
			 September 159 
			 October 206 
			 November 161 
			 December 88 
			   
			 2004  
			 January 153 
			 February 134 
			 March 336 
			 April 122 
			 May 170 
			 June 153

Pension Credit Application Line

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to his answer of 3 February 2004, Official Report, columns 833–34W, if he will provide the information on calls to the pension credit application line for each month since January for which figures are available.

Malcolm Wicks: The available information is shown in the table.
	
		Calls to pension credit application line, January-June 2004
		
			  Calls received by application line Calls receiving engaged tone or recorded message Calls answered within 30 seconds Average call duration (minutes: seconds) 
		
		
			 January 495,560 120 429,670 08:12 
			 February 433,790 190 372,930 08:34 
			 March 430,070 230 378,440 08:38 
			 April 346,890 13,560 250,970 09:18 
			 May 234,580 20 212,570 08:48 
			 June 315,200 20 266,040 07:20 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Numbers of calls are rounded to the nearest 10.
	2. The number of calls receiving the engaged tone or a recorded message was unusually high in April due to reduced numbers of staff as a result of industrial action. The number of lines feeding into the application line from the network was reduced to avoid people having to wait for a long time for an answer (instead they received a recorded message).
	3. The number of calls received is a measure of the total number of calls from customers made to the application line number 0800 99 1234. The number of calls answered within 30 seconds is a measure of all calls answered in application line sites and excludes any calls abandoned by the customer.

Pension Payment Arrangements

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what percentage of pensioners in (a) England, (b) East Sussex and (c) Lewes constituency are using pension books to collect their pensions at a post office.

Chris Pond: Information available on pensioners (women over 60 and men over 65) as at 15 May 2004 in (a) England (b) East Sussex and (c) Lewes constituency receiving their retirement pension by order books, collectable at a post office, is shown in the table.
	
		
			  Accounts paid by order book Percentage of retirement pension accounts paid by order book 
		
		
			 England 2,936,800 37 
			 East Sussex 32,505 28.40 
			 Lewes 5,210 25.60 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Figures are rounded to the nearest five.
	2. Figures do not include retirement pension combined with pension credit in a single payment.
	Source:
	IAD information Centre, 100 per cent. sample.

Pension Payment Arrangements

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much has been spent to date on the change of pension payment arrangements from book to bank account; and how much of that has been spent on contact with recipients.

Chris Pond: We are unable to answer in the format requested.
	As at the 31 March 2004 the Department had, through its payment modernisation programme, incurred £210 million towards converting benefit and pensions customers from paper based methods of payment to payment by direct payment. Of this total around £90 million related to the cost of contacting benefit and pension customers. With the remainder being spent on project team costs, IT development, marketing and training of staff.

Pension Payment Arrangements

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioners who receive their pensions by giro have agreed an alternative means of payment with the Government.

Chris Pond: Only a very small number of pensions customers receive their pension by giro, and in the 12 month period ending 24 January 2004 less than 50 changed to another method of payment.
	Almost nine out of ten (87 per cent) of benefit customers already have an account suitable for Direct Payment, and this rises to 90 per cent. for pensioners.

Pension Payment Arrangements

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment his Department has made of the importance of regular income in helping the elderly budget for their needs.

Chris Pond: The Government acknowledge the importance of pension payment arrangements that reflect elderly people's budgeting needs. We therefore offer a range of payment frequencies for benefits. Pensioners can choose to have their state pension paid weekly, four weekly or 13 weekly; pension credit is paid weekly.
	The move to Direct Payment involves no changes to customers' existing benefit and pension payment frequencies. Pensioners who receive their pension by weekly order book will continue to receive their pension weekly when they transfer to Direct Payment.

Pension Payment Arrangements

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what proportion of pension payments paid into bank accounts since the beginning of the current financial year have not been paid seven days after the previous payment;
	(2)  how many bank accounts into which pensions are directly paid have had at least one occasion where the payment has not been paid exactly seven days after the last one;
	(3)  what steps he has taken to ensure that pensions paid into bank accounts are done paid every seven days.

Chris Pond: The information is not available in the format requested.
	Pensioners can choose to have their state pension paid weekly, four weekly or 13 weekly; pension credit is paid weekly.
	Since the beginning of the financial year there have been no occasions when pension payments generally have been paid late into bank accounts. However there will have been individual cases where a change of circumstance has caused a review of the award, which may delay a payment. There may also be instances where banks have rejected payments because of changes to account details or similar circumstances.
	The Department ensures that payments due payment on a bank holiday are advanced so that customers can get the money before the holiday. The general rule for direct payment is that payment due on a UK bank holiday (including 2 January in Scotland) is advanced to the last banking day before the holiday.

Pension Payment Arrangements

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions into how many bank accounts pensions are directly paid.

Chris Pond: The information is not available in the format requested.
	However, information is available to show that, as at 15 May 2004, 6,794,800 pensions accounts were paid by direct payment. Included in his total are 377,130 payments direct into a Post Office card account.

Pension Payment Arrangements

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioners have migrated from over-the-counter benefit payments to automated credit transfer in each month since May 1997.

Chris Pond: The precise information is not available in the format requested. The number of pensioners (women over 60 and men over 65) that have migrated from over the counter benefit payments to direct payments each month since 15 June 2002 is shown in the table.
	
		
			 Month Number of accounts 
		
		
			 15 June to 13 July 2002 4,460 
			 13 July to 10 August 2002 16,000 
			 10 August to 7 September 2002 13,240 
			 7 September to 5 October 2002 3,840 
			 5 October to 2 November 2002 19,805 
			 2–30 November 2002 4,560 
			 30 November to28 December 2002 21,445 
			 28 December 2002 to 25 January 2003 3,730 
			 25 January to 22 February 2003 26,065 
			 22 February to 22 March 2003 20,310 
			 22 March to 19 April 2003 6,620 
			 19 April to 17 May 2003 19,715 
			 17 May to 14 June 2003 30,075 
			 14 June to 12 July 2003 7,120 
			 12 July to 9 August 2003 34,130 
			 9 August to 6 September 2003 69,475 
			 6 September to 4 October 2003 10,255 
			 4 October to 1 November 2003 128,745 
			 1–29 November 2003 115,710 
			 29 November to 27 December 2003 20,045 
			 27 December 2003 to 24 January 2004 188,080 
			 24 January to 21 February 2004 182,205 
			 21 February to 20 March 2004 108,665 
			 20 March to 17 April 2004 296,865 
		
	
	Notes:
	The following special points should be noted:
	1. Figures produced by comparing two snapshots of live accounts in payment on the specified dates where the method of payment variable has changed to direct payment on the second dataset.
	2. Figures produced relate to accounts not claimants, a benefit recipient may therefore have more than one account. Figures do not include any benefit payment that is made "in combination", through another benefit system, such as state pension paid through the pension credit system as a combined payment.
	3. Over the counter payments includes order books and giros.
	4. Figures are rounded to the nearest 5.
	5. Figures refer to pensioner age benefit recipients residing in GB only.
	6. Included in these figures is payments made to customers by girocheque. Girocheques are encashable at either a bank/building society account or a post office.
	7. Some customers who are paid direct into an account can also collect their payments in cash at post offices through the wider range of banking services now available at the post office. There is no data available on the number of benefit claims collected in this way.

Policy (Environmental Impact)

John Horam: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many new policy proposals or significant changes in policy were produced in (a) 2002–03 and (b) 2003–04; how many of these were screened for their environmental impacts; and how many were the subject of separate environmental appraisals.

Jane Kennedy: The following table gives details of recorded policy decisions and changes, together with screenings undertaken. No full environmental appraisals have been undertaken.
	
		
			  2002–03 2003–04 
		
		
			 Number of new policies and significant changes in policies 21 30 
			 Number of environmental screenings undertaken 4 9 
		
	
	The Department has now incorporated sustainable development into its change processes. This requires all programmes and projects to undertake a sustainability assessment, including the consideration of environmental impacts, at key stages in development.

Post Office Card Accounts (Pensions)

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many complaints he has received from pensions recipients about difficulties in accessing their funds through Post Office card accounts since the accounts were introduced.

Chris Pond: The information is not available in the specific format requested. Feedback and complaints to The Pension Service are recorded under a number of categories, which include delays to or non-receipt of payments but not the method of payment involved.
	The Post Office is responsible for dealing with any problems account holders may have in accessing money already held in a Post Office card account.

Press Officers

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much his Department spent on press officers, broken down by grade, in (a) 1996–97 and (b) the latest year for which figures are available.

Maria Eagle: The Department for Work and Pensions was formed in June 2001 from the former Department of Social Security, parts of the former Department for Education and Employment and the Employment Service. Information on costs for 1996–97 is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	During 2003–04 the Department spent £1,482,811 on press officer salaries. A breakdown of expenditure by grade cannot be provided, in order to protect individual confidentiality. However, information on the number of press officers employed in each grade is in the table.
	
		
			 Grade Number of press officers employed 
		
		
			 Senior Civil Service 1 
			 Grade 7 2 
			 Senior Executive Officer/Senior Information  Officer 6 
			 Higher Executive Officer/ Information Officer 25 
			 Executive Officer/Assistant Information Officer 6 
		
	
	Note:
	Staffing figures are whole time equivalents.

Public Awareness Campaigns

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the objectives were for each advertising campaign undertaken by his Department since 2001, what criteria were used to judge their effectiveness; and to what extent these criteria were met.

Maria Eagle: A summary of advertising campaigns that have been conducted by the Department since 2000–01 is in the table.
	
		
			 Advertising campaign Objective Evaluation method Campaign result 
		
		
			 Minimum Income Guarantee To encourage pensioners to take up their entitlement Measure the awareness of MIG Monitor the number in receipt of MIG Awareness and take up levels increased 
			 Winter Fuel To inform those eligible that payment is being made, inc 70+ and 80+ payments, and to encourage those who need to claim to do so Measure the awareness of the payments  Monitor new claims (NB—most payments made automatically) Awareness levels increased Number of new claims increasing 
			 Pensions Education Campaign Long term campaign to encourage people to save for their retirement and improve their understanding of the options available Track the take-up of information guides Monitor the number of visitors to relevant information on website Monitor calls to call centre Number of guides, visitors and calls increased 
			 Targeting Benefit Fraud Long term campaign to tackle general attitudes to fraud and deter fraudsters Monitor awareness and attitudes to fraud Increase in awareness and progress towards key attitude changes 
			 New Deal for Lone Parents Raise awareness of the help available to lone parents in preparing for work Measure awareness among target audience Track volume of calls to helpline Awareness level and number of calls to helpline increased 
			 New Deal for Disabled People To raise awareness and generate response to the helpline Measure awareness amongst the target audience Track number of calls to helpline Awareness level and number of calls to helpline increased 
			 New Deal 25 Plus To inform the long term unemployed of help available Measure awareness among target audience Awareness level increased 
			 Disability Discrimination Act To raise awareness of the Act and encourage service providers to ensure that disabled people can access their services Track awareness among target audience Awareness levels increased 
			 Pension Credit To encourage eligible pensioners to claim the new Pension Credit Measure the awareness of Pension Credit  Monitor the number of eligible pensioners in receipt of Pension Credit, to ensure progress towards PSA target of 3 million by 2006. Awareness and take up levels increased Progress on caseload in line to meet PSA target 
			 State Second Pension To encourage carers to review their circumstances to ensure that they are building up a Sate Second Pension Monitor the number of requests for copies of the guide "State Pensions for carers and parents" requested in response to advertising  Monitor awareness among target audience Number of guides issued and awareness increased 
			 Inherited SERPS To explain the relative amount of SERPS pensions that people may be able to pass onto their spouses on death Monitor awareness among target audience Awareness level increased 
			 Direct Payment Three year campaign to support the conversion of customers from paper based methods to payment direct into an account Monitor awareness of Direct Payment  Customers' understanding of the new system and key campaign messages Awareness and understanding increased 
			 Age Positive To communicate to employers the benefits of an age-diverse workforce Monitor awareness of the Code of Practise  Track awareness of the website Awareness of Code and website increased 
			 The Pension Service To raise awareness of the services of the new Pension Service Track number of visitors to the mobile exhibition unit  Track attendance at Pension Service surgeries Number of visitors and attendance at surgeries increased 
			 Council Tax Benefit Raise awareness amongst those on low incomes -primarily pensioners Monitor awareness of among target audience Awareness level increased 
			 Jobseeker Direct To promote telephone service to those looking for work, particularly to priority customer groups of lone parents and people aged 50+ Monitor awareness among target audience  Track number of calls received Awareness level increased 
			 Jobcentre Plus Employer Marketing To generate vacancies delivering performance improvement. Measure year-on-year vacancy volumes Number of vacancies increased 
			 New Deal To raise awareness of the breadth of help available and encourage key target groups to respond Monitor awareness among target audience  Track the number of responses Awareness and number of responses increased 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Information relates to advertising campaigns over the value of £250,00 for 2000–01 and over £500,000 for subsequent years.
	2. Information on advertising campaigns costing under £250,000 and details of highly localised activity by the Departments customer-facing businesses have generally not been included as a disproportionate cost would be incurred in compiling these figures.
	3. Evaluation of all campaigns is a routine procedure. Methods of evaluation vary and reflect the needs of each individual campaign. Detailed information of evaluation is not held centrally nor in a standard format and so can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	4. Copies of the Management summaries for the Targeting Fraud Campaigns are available in the Library.

Public Relations

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the salary costs to the Department were for employees working in public relations and publicity in each year since 1997.

Maria Eagle: The Department for Work and Pensions was formed in June 2001 from the former Department of Social Security, parts of the former Department for Education and Employment and the Employment Service. The available information is in the table.
	
		DWP salary costs for employees working in publicity and public relations -- £
		
			  Publicity Press officers/public relations Total 
		
		
			 2001–02 (from June 2001) 1,407,738 816,725 2,224,463 
			 2002–03 1,667,295 1,739,935 3,407,230 
			 2003–04 1,569,683 1,482,811 3,052,494 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Information on costs prior to June 2001 is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	2. The figures refer to staff in the DWP Communications Directorate and exclude staff in marketing roles in the Department's customer facing businesses, or supporting and delivering marketing activity at local level. This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Students (Means-tested Benefits)

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many full-time undergraduate students were in receipt of means-tested benefits when they applied for their course in each year since 2000; and how many continued to receive means-tested benefits while on their course.

Chris Pond: The information is not available.

Social Fund Crisis Loan Alignment Payments

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many Social Fund crisis loan alignment payments were awarded in (a) 2002–03 and (b) 2003–04; what the expenditure on alignment payments was in each of those years; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Pond: Crisis loan alignment payments are made to people awaiting their first payment of benefit, which is paid in arrears. Crisis loan payments made in these circumstances are intended to cover day-to-day living expenses until the first benefit pay day, following which full payments of benefit can be made. Where a claim has not been decided by the time that the first payment is due, interim payments are available.
	Alignment payments can also be made to people moving from benefit into work who need financial help until they receive their first wage.
	The information is in the table.
	
		
			  Number of awards Expenditure (£ million) 
		
		
			 2002–03 510,000 29.8 
			 2003–04 513,000 31.0 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. The number of awards listed includes all crisis loans made in whole or in part for alignment purposes.
	2. Number of awards is rounded to the nearest thousand.
	Source:
	DWP Social Fund Policy, Budget and Management Information System.

Social Fund Funeral Expenses Payment

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the level of the Social Fund funeral expenses payment was in each of the last seven years.

Chris Pond: The funeral payment scheme provides people receiving qualifying benefits or tax credits with payments for simple, respectful funerals. Awards cover the reasonable cost of specified items, including necessary burial or cremation charges, plus up to £700 for other non-specified funeral expenses. This was increased from £600 in April 2003.
	The information is in the table.
	
		£
		
			  Average funeral payment 
		
		
			 1997–98 796 
			 1998–99 836 
			 1999–2000 862 
			 2000–01 885 
			 2001–02 909 
			 2002–03 929 
			 2003–04 1,019 
		
	
	Source:
	DWP Social Fund Policy, Budget and Management Information System

Travel Costs

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the travel costs were of civil servants in (a) his Department, (b) its predecessor Department and (c) its related agencies in each year since 1997.

Maria Eagle: The available information is in the tables. DWP was formed in June 2001 from the former Department of Social Security (DSS) and parts of the former Department for Education and Employment (DfEE). Travel expenditure information is not available for the former DfEE prior to March 2000, therefore expenditure figures up to and including 31/03/2000 are for the former DSS only. All travel complied with the requirements of the Civil Service Management Code.
	
		Travel costs from 1997–98 to 2000–01 for the DSSand its agencies
		
			  1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 
		
		
			 Benefits Agency 18,968,615 18,692,979 20,803,862 18,382,607 
			 Contributions Agency 2,420,422 2,889,523 — — 
			 Child Support Agency 2,380,132 2,244,467 3,114,557 3,841,188 
			 War Pensions Agency 275,967 348,711 416,182 445,401 
			 HQ 1,535,194 2,423,911 2,939,166 3,462,278 
			 Independent Statutory  Bodies 862,751 828,137 1,890,467 1,876,481 
			 Employment Services — — — 2,613,873 
			 Total 26,443,081 27,427,728 29,164,243 30,621,828 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Travel costs include vehicle rental, UK travel, foreign travel and official vehicle costs.
	2. BA costs included benefit offices, pensions, disability and carers directorate and DSS corporate centre.
	3. Contributions Agency transferred to Inland Revenue in 1999.
	
		Travel costs from 2001–02 to 2003–04 for DWP
		
			  2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 
		
		
			 Benefits Agency 14,311,031 — — 
			 Employment Services 2,730,854 — — 
			 JobCentre Plus — 6,657,293 6,348,361 
			 Pensions Service — 5,669,528 10,001,472 
			 Child Support Agency 3,026,276 9,307,901 5,769,218 
			 Disability and Carers  Directorate — 1,563,153 1,305,638 
			 War Pensions Agency 385,999 — — 
			 Independent Statutory Bodies 542,783 — — 
			 Appeals Service — 670,736 797,560 
			 Corporate and Shared  Services 13,434,816 11,213,697 12,308,030 
			 Total 34,431759 35,082,308 36,530,279 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Travel costs include vehicle rental, UK travel, foreign travel and official vehicle costs.
	2. BA costs included benefit offices, pensions, disability and carers directorate and DSS corporate centre.

Tribunal Appeal Centres

Harry Barnes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will list the tribunal appeal centres which are being considered for closure.

Maria Eagle: This is a matter for Christina Townsend, Chief Executive of the Appeals Service. She will write to the hon. Member.
	Letter from Christina Townsend to Mr. Harry Barnes, dated 22 July 2004
	The Secretary of State has asked me to respond to your question regarding appeal tribunal centres being considered for closure.
	The Appeals Service is considering a number of proposals about its current organisation. No final decisions on the number of tribunal venues or their location have yet been taken.
	I hope this reply is helpful.

Work-related Ill Health

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the incidence rate was of cases of work-related ill health in each of the last seven years.

Jane Kennedy: No single source of information gives a complete and reliable measure of work-related ill health in Great Britain. The most inclusive and broadly based estimates come from self-reporting surveys in which individuals are asked to report any work-related ill health they have suffered in the last 12 months. In the period requested only one such measure is available, for 2001–02. For this year the estimated incidence rate was 2,200 per 100,000. A more up-to-date estimate, covering 2003–04, will be published later this year.

Work-related Ill Health

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many members of the public have suffered ill health as a result of work activity in each of the last seven years.

Jane Kennedy: Comprehensive figures do not exist for the number of cases of ill health suffered as a result of work activity by members of the public, that is, by people other than workers. There are a number of issues that can contribute to ill health in the public caused by work activity. These include Healthcare Acquired Infection (HAI), pesticide-related ill health and Legionellosis. Partial information through the incidence statistics collected by various bodies, including HSE, local authorities and health agencies.

Working Temperature

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans the Health and Safety Executive has to set a maximum working temperature.

Jane Kennedy: The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) will not be setting a maximum working temperature, as, due to the diversity of workplaces and work activities, it would be impractical to do so. Temperature is but one of a range of environmental and personal factors that thermal comfort in the workplace is dependant upon. Other factors include ventilation, humidity, radiant temperature, clothes worn, and the type of work involved. However, HSE do have plans to explore ways in which more guidance can be provided on the assessment and control of thermal comfort, and officials are currently considering possible approaches to a proposed dialogue on the matter with social partners.

Workplace Health and Safety

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether the new public service agreement target on improving workplace health and safety will include improving the safety of those who drive in the course of their work.

Jane Kennedy: The public service agreement applies only to people who drive or operate plant and vehicles on worksites.

SCOTLAND

Departmental Questions

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many (a) ordinary written and (b) named day questions his Department received in (i) the 2002–03 Session and (ii) this Session.

Anne McGuire: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of today to his earlier question, 171196.

Departmental Staff (Upper Age Limits)

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether his Department has (a) a set retirement age which applies to all or most personnel and (b) a maximum age beyond which applications for employment will not be considered; and what the age is in each case.

Anne McGuire: Most of the staff in the Scotland Office and the Office of the Advocate-General are on loan from the Scottish Executive. The normal retirement age for all Scottish Executive staff is 60 years and, in line with this, applications for employment are not normally considered from candidates over 60. This policy is currently under review.

Devolution

Bill Tynan: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what regular assessments of the balance between devolved and reserved powers are carried out.

Anne McGuire: The Government keeps policy and practice in relation to all aspects of the Scottish devolution settlement under review.
	Those matters reserved to the UK Parliament are set out in Schedule 5 to the Scotland Act 1998. Any amendments to Schedule 5, either increasing or reducing the scope of reserved matters, are considered on a case-by-case basis and are subject to scrutiny in both the UK and Scottish Parliaments.

Devolution

Bill Tynan: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what (a) devolved issues and (b) other responsibilities have been transferred from the Scottish Executive to the UK Government since 1999; what return of funding each transfer involved; how many staff each transfer involved; and what legal basis was required for each transfer.

Anne McGuire: There have been no devolved issues transferred from the Scottish Executive to Ministers of the Crown since 1 July 1999.

Devolution

Bill Tynan: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what (a) reserved issues and (b) other responsibilities have been transferred from the UK Government to the Scottish Executive since its creation; what additional funding each transfer involved; how many staff each transfer involved; and what legal basis was required for each transfer.

Anne McGuire: This is a complex and detailed matter, which will require the preparation of a comprehensive list of legislation that relates to any transfer of functions or legislative competence. I will write to my hon. Friend as soon as this list can be prepared and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.

Efficiency Savings (Scottish Executive)

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what discussions he has had with the First Minister since the Comprehensive Spending Review in connection with efficiency savings in the Scottish Executive.

Alistair Darling: I have regular discussions with the First Minister on a range of subjects.

Special Advisers

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many of the reductions in the numbers of civil servants in his Department announced in the comprehensive spending review will be of special advisers.

Anne McGuire: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, on 20 July 2004, Official Report, column 190W.

Parliamentary Questions

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland 
	(1)  how many (a) ordinary written and (b) named day questions his Department received in (i) 2002–03 and (ii) this parliamentary Session, broken down by month;
	(2)  what proportion of (a) ordinary written questions to his Department were answered within five sitting days of tabling and (b) questions for written answer on a named day received a substantive answer on that day in (i) the 2002–03 parliamentary Session and (ii) this parliamentary Session, broken down by month.

Anne McGuire: The breakdown of written questions received is as follows:
	
		
			  Ordinary written Named day 
		
		
			 Session 2002–03   
			 November 2002 16 2 
			 December 2002 9 6 
			 January 2003 50 7 
			 February 2003 19 4 
			 March 2003 34 8 
			 April 2003 28 2 
			 May 2003 34 4 
			 June 2003 59 6 
			 July 2003 36 3 
			 September 2003 8 1 
			 October 2003 9 5 
			 November 2003 8 — 
			
			 Session 2003–04 (to end June) 
			 November 2003 — 2 
			 December 2003 12 5 
			 January 2004 17 4 
			 February 2004 19 4 
			 March 2004 19 2 
			 April 2004 23 — 
			 May 2004 26 3 
			 June 2004 8 1 
		
	
	While records on average processing times are not collected, approximately 65 per cent. of the ordinary written questions were answered within five sitting days. Approximately 60 per cent. of the named day questions were answered by the date specified.

Sewel Motions

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland pursuant to his answer of 7 July 2004, Official Report, column 709W, on Sewel motions, what Westminster legislation has been enacted in respect of each Sewel motion.

Anne McGuire: Sewel motions passed by the Scottish Parliament have been relevant to the following enactments of the UK Parliament:
	
		
			 Enactment Date Sewel motion approved 
		
		
			 Food Standards Act 1999, c.28 23 June 1999 
			 Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, c.8 23 June 1999 
			 Electronic Communications Act 2000, c.7 23 June 1999 
			 Limited Liability Partnerships Act 2000, c.12 23 June 1999 
			 Sea Fishing Grants (Charges) Act 2000, c.18 8 December 1999 
			 Representation of the People Act 2000, c.2 13 January 2000 
			 Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 2000, c.44 19 January 2000 
			 Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000, c.41 9 March 2000 (1) 6 July 2000 (2) 
			 Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000, c.23 6 April 2000 
			 Learning and Skills Act 2000, c.2 1 18 May 2000 
			 Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000, c.34 25 May 2000 
			 Insolvency Act 2000, c.39 1 June 2000 
			 Care Standards Act 2000, c.14 22 June 2000 
			 Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000, c.20 6 July 2000 
			 Criminal Justice and Court Service Act 2000, c.43 5 October 2000 
			 Health and Social Care Act 2001, c.15 17 January 2001 
			 Tobacco Advertising and Promotion Act 2002, c.36 17 January 2001 
			 International Criminal Court Act 2001, c.17 18 January 2001 
			 Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001, c.16 7 February 2001 
			 International Development Act 2002, c.1 8 March 2001 
			 Armed Forces Act 2001, c.19 29 March 2001 
			 Adoption and Children Act 2002, c.38 4 April 2001 (1) 24 October 2001(2) 30 January 2002 (3) 
			 Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, c.29 24 October 2001 
			 Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act, c.24 15 November 2001 
			 National Health Service Reform and Health Care Professions Act 2002, c.17 22 November 2001 
			 Police Reform Act 2002, c.30 30 January 2002(1) 27 June 2002 (2) 
			 Enterprise Act 2002, c.40 17 April 2002 
			 Private Hire Vehicles (Carriage of Guide Dogs etc.) Act 2002, c.37 19 June 2002 
			 Extradition Act 2003, c.41 21 November 2002 
			 Waste and Emissions Trading Act 2003, c.43 28 November 2002 
			 Criminal Justice Act 2003, c.44 5 December 2002(1) 9 October 2003 (2) 
			 Crime (International Co-operation) Act 2003, c.32 5 December 2002 
			 Local Government Act 2003, c.11 6 February 2003 
			 Sexual Offences Act 2003, c.42 20 March 2003 
			 Railways and Transport Safety Act, c.20 20 March 2003 
			 Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Act 2003, c.43 19 June 2003 
			 Fireworks Act 2003, c.22 26 June 2003 
			 Legal Deposit Libraries Act 2003, c.28 11 September 2003 
			 Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004, c.5 20 November 2003 
			 Gender Recognition Act 2004, c.1 5 February 2004 
			 Higher Education Act 2004, c.8 12 February 2004 
			 Justice (Northern Ireland) 2004, c.4 18 March 2004 
		
	
	* Approval of Westminster legislation by the Scottish Parliament before it assumed its full powers on 1 July 1999.
	The following Sewel motions have been passed by the Scottish Parliament in relation to Bills that have either subsequently not been enacted in the UK Parliament or have not yet completed their parliamentary consideration:
	
		
			 Sewel motion/Bill Date approved Status 
		
		
			 Outworking 31 January 2001 Private Member's Bill—dropped 
			 Culture and Recreation 8 March 2001 Not proceeded with after second reading in House of Lords 
			 Health Protection Agency 29 January 2004 Bill currently before Parliament 
			 Energy 4 February 2004 Bill currently before Parliament 
			 Asylum and Immigration (Treatment for Claimants etc.) 12 February 2004 Bill currently before Parliament 
			 Companies (Audit, Investigations and Community Enterprise) 4 March 2004 Bill currently before Parliament 
			 Civil Contingencies 4 March 2004 Bill currently before Parliament 
			 Civil Partnership 3 June 2004 Bill currently before Parliament

Sustainable Development (Government Estate)

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what changes there have been in (a) road transport vehicle carbon emissions and (b) single occupancy car commuting from his Department against the baseline year in the Framework for Sustainable Development on the Government Estate.

Anne McGuire: The use of vehicles by the Scotland Office is limited to official Ministerial travel. Vehicles are supplied by the Government Car and Despatch Agency, which has reduced vehicle carbon emissions from its fleet by 0.8 per cent. in the first year following the baseline year in the Framework for Sustainable Development on the Government Estate.
	Vehicles are not used by the Scotland Office on a single occupancy basis.

Water

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether his Department has joined the Watermark project.

Anne McGuire: The Scotland Office has not joined the Watermark project. The Office is now a distinct entity within the Department for Constitutional Affairs and its water usage, together with other sustainable development issues, will be reviewed in that context in the coming year.

Water

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what changes there have been in water consumption by his Department in each year since 1997.

Anne McGuire: The Scotland Office was established on 1 July 1999.
	Information on water consumption is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. The Scotland Office is now a distinct entity within the Department for Constitutional Affairs and its water usage, together with other sustainable development issues, will be reviewed in that context in the coming year.

Water

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the non-office sites within his departmental estate which have been identified as being likely to provide opportunities for significant water savings.

Anne McGuire: The Scotland Office does not have any non-office sites within its estate.

PRIME MINISTER

Advisory Committee on Business Appointments

Linda Gilroy: To ask the Prime Minister when he plans to publish the annual report of the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments; and if he intends to carry out a review of the business appointment rules.

Tony Blair: The Advisory Committee on Business Appointments has submitted its sixth report to me. The report provides an account of the work of the Committee in advising me on business appointment applications from Crown servants on the acceptance of outside appointments after leaving Government. The report covers the period 1 April 2002 to 31 March 2004. Copies of the report have been placed in the Libraries of the House.
	I am very grateful to all the Committee members for giving their time so freely to it.
	In addition, I have asked Sir Patrick Brown to undertake a review of the Business Appointment rules taking account of the work already done by the Committee and referred to in their report. The rules were last reviewed in 1996. Since then there has been a greater emphasis on interchange with the private and other sectors. The review will have the following terms of reference:
	"To review the Business Appointment rules to ensure that they are compatible with a public service that is keen to encourage greater interchange with the private and other sectors which is essential for effective delivery in today's public service. The review will consider the operation of the system, taking account of practice overseas. It will also consider the current machinery for dealing with applications and the necessary resources".

Butler Report

Llew Smith: To ask the Prime Minister pursuant to his statement of 14 July 2004, Official Report, column 1435, on the Butler Report, what action he proposes to take to address the errors for which he has taken responsibility.

Tony Blair: I refer my hon. Friend to my statement in the Iraq debate on 20 July 2004, Official Report, column 195.

Iraq

Frank Dobson: To ask the Prime Minister 
	(1)  what advice he has received from the intelligence services about the impact of the Iraq war and subsequent occupation on the likely incidence of terrorism in (a) the Middle East, (b) the UK and (c) the rest of the world;
	(2)  what advice he has received from the intelligence services about the impact of the Iraq war and subsequent occupation on public opinion on the popularity of the UK in the Middle East.

Tony Blair: I regularly receive intelligence assessments that address the situation in Iraq and its wider impact, including on the threat from international terrorism.

Iraq

Llew Smith: To ask the Prime Minister if he will give details of each of the false statements or omissions in the Iraqi declarations provided pursuant to United Nations Security Council Resolution 1441 (2002) to which reference was made in the letter sent by his private secretary to the legal secretary of the law officers on 15 March 2003, referred to in paragraph 384 of the report of the Butler Committee on the review of intelligence on weapons of mass destruction.

Tony Blair: As set out in the Butler Report, intelligence and information from a wide range of other sources, especially from UNMOVIC, demonstrated that there were false statements and omissions in the declarations submitted by Iraq.

Iraq

Llew Smith: To ask the Prime Minister when he was informed of the proposal made by the director of the Central Intelligence Agency's weapons, intelligence, non-proliferation and arms control centre that the statements made on Iraq's attempts to secure uranium from Niger in the British Government dossier should be removed, as set out on pages 64–65 of the United States Senate report on intelligence on Iraq.

Tony Blair: As set out in paragraph 497 of the Butler Report, the Central Intelligence Agency advised caution about any suggestion that Iraq had succeeded in acquiring uranium from Africa, but agreed that there was evidence that it had been sought.

Iraq (Statement on Mass Graves)

Llew Smith: To ask the Prime Minister what the source was for the statement he made on 20 November 2003 that the remains of 400,000 people had been discovered in mass graves in Iraq.

Tony Blair: Human rights organisations, forensic groups and the UN have estimated that there are hundreds of thousands of people believed to be buried in mass graves. What is clear is that until a systematic investigation of Iraq's 259 reported mass gravesites is completed we are unlikely to know the complete picture.

Kosovo

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Prime Minister what measures have been taken each year to advance the undertakings he gave during his first visit to Pristina, Kosovo; what further measures he proposes; and if he will make a statement.

Tony Blair: The UK remains committed to building a stable, democratic and multi-ethnic Kosovo, based on UN Security Council Resolution 1244, which set up the UN Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) to help establish an autonomous, self-governing Kosovo. Free and democratic elections were held in 2001 which resulted in the formation of a Provisional Kosovo Government (PISG). In November 2003, the UNSC set out key standards that the PISG needed to reach for a process on final status to begin. The UN Secretary General, consulting the Contact Group, will assess progress in a formal review in 2005.
	The UK continues to be a leading partner in Kosovo working closely with the UN Mission in Kosovo, the EU and the Contact Group to build a Kosovo based on the rule of law. I welcome the 14 July Joint Declaration by Kosovo Serb and Albanian leaders pledging to work together on reconciliation, return of displaced Serbs and reform of local self-government.
	Since the establishment of UNMIK in 1999, the UK has provided over £50 million and over 100 seconded staff. We have contributed over £115 million to programmes to help develop policy, strategy and operational systems in key areas such as public administration, social policy and health care reform.

Ministerial Gifts

Parmjit Dhanda: To ask the Prime Minister if he will list gifts received by Ministers in 2003–04 valued at more than £140.

Tony Blair: I have today published a list of gifts received by Ministers. The list provides details of gifts received by Ministers valued at more than £140 for the period 1 April 2003 to 31 March 2004. Copies of the list have been placed in the Libraries of the House.

Ministerial Visits

Tom Watson: To ask the Prime Minister if he will list (a) Government expenditure on ministerial overseas visits for the financial years 1996–97 to 2003–04 and (b) all visits overseas undertaken by Cabinet Ministers costing in excess of £500 between 1 April 2003 and 31 March 2004, including the cost, destination and purpose of each visit.

Tony Blair: Expenditure on ministerial overseas visits for the period requested is estimated as follows.
	
		
			  Expenditure (£ million) 
		
		
			 1996–97 7.9 
			 1997–98(26) 6.4 
			 1998–99 4.9 
			 1999–2000 4.6 
			 2000–01 4.7 
			 2001–02 5.6 
			 2002–03 5.7 
			 2003–04(27) 5.2 
		
	
	(26) 2 May 1997 to 31 March 1998.
	(27) The figure for 2003–04 reflects payments made so far for travel undertaken in the period; a few bills have yet to be submitted to Departments for payment.
	A list of all visits overseas undertaken by Cabinet Ministers costing £500 or more during the period 1 April 2003 to 31 March 2004 has been placed in the Libraries of the House. The list provides details of the date, destination, purpose and costs of individual visits made by Cabinet Ministers.

Special Advisers

Dave Watts: To ask the Prime Minister if he will list (a) the names of special advisers in post and their specific area of expertise if appropriate, (b) special advisers' pay ranges for 2004–05, (c) the number of special advisers in each pay band by Department and (d) the total cost of special advisers for 2003–04.

Tony Blair: Listed as follows are the names of special advisers in post at 19 July 2004, the special advisers' pay ranges for 2004–05, the number of special advisers in each pay band by Department and the total cost of special advisers for 2003–04.
	All special advisers are appointed under terms and conditions set out in the "Model Contract for Special Advisers" providing advice on the full range of their appointing Minister's departmental responsibilities. Where a special adviser has a specific expertise this is indicated.
	
		Advisers in post
		
			 Appointing Minister Special adviser in post Expertise 
		
		
			 The Prime Minister(28) Jonathan Powell Chief of Staff 
			  Sally Morgan Government relations 
			
			  Policy Directorate  
			  Andrew Adonis Education 
			  Arnab Banerjee Economics 
			  Patrick Diamond Education and cross-cutting policy issues 
			  Matthew Elson Transport 
			  Julian Le Grand Health 
			  Roger Liddle Europe 
			  Alasdair McGowan Devolution, local and regional government 
			  John McTernan Social exclusion 
			  Geoffrey Norris Industry and business 
			  Carey Oppenheim Children and families 
			  Nicholas Rowley Environment 
			  Justin Russell Home and Legal Affairs 
			  Matthew Taylor Acting Head of the Policy Directorate 
			
			  Communications  
			  David Hill  
			  Hilary Coffman  
			  Darren Murphy  
			
			  Diary management  
			  Katie Kay  
			
			  Events and visits  
			  Jo Gibbons  
			  Angela Goodchild (p/t)  
			
			  Implementation Group  
			  Kate Garvey  
			  Sarah Hunter  
			  Liz Lloyd  
			
			  Media Monitoring Unit  
			  Chris McShane  
			
			  Research and Information Unit  
			  Joanna Nadin  
			  Catherine Rimmer  
			
			  Strategic Communications Unit  
			  David Bradshaw  
			 Deputy Prime Minister and First Joan Hammell  
			 Secretary of State Ian McKenzie  
			  Paul Hacket (p/t)  
			
			 Chief Whip (Commons) Sue Jackson  
			  Fiona Gordon  
			
			 Chief Whip (Lords) Margaret Ounsley  
			
			 Secretary of State for Culture, Media Bill Bush  
			 and Sport Nick Bent  
			
			 Secretary of State for Defence Michael Dugher  
			  James Connal  
			
			 Secretary of State for Education and Robert Hill  
			 Skills Lisa Tremble  
			
			 Secretary of State for Environment, Nicci Collins  
			 Food and Rural Affairs Stephen Hale  
			  Hazel Phillips  
			
			 Secretary of State for Foreign and Ed Owen Communications and the EU 
			 Commonwealth Affairs Michael Williams UN; human rights; Asia, Africa and the Balkans. 
			
			 Secretary of State for Health Richard Olszewski  
			  Steve Bates  
			  Paul Corrigan  
			
			 Secretary of State for the Home Matt Cavanagh  
			 Department Katharine Raymond  
			  Huw Evans  
			  Sophie Linden (p/t)  
			
			 Leader of the House of Lords, and Matthew Seward(29)  
			 Lord President of the Council Mark Davies Communications 
			  Joe Dancey (p/t)  
			
			 Secretary of State for Constitutional Garry Hart  
			 Affairs and Lord Chancellor Philip Bassett  
			
			 Secretary of State for International Alex Evans Communications 
			 Development Beatrice Stern  
			
			 Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Owen Smith  
			  Adam Higgett  
			
			 Leader of the House of Commons, Greg Power Parliamentary procedure 
			 Lord Privy Seal and Secretary of State Phil Taylor Parliamentary procedure 
			 for Wales Andrew Bold Welsh affairs 
			
			 Secretary of State for Trade and Jim Godfrey Communications 
			 Industry Roger Sharp  
			  Deborah Lincoln Women and equality 
			  Emily Thomas (unpaid)  
			
			 Secretary of State for Transport and Andrew Maugham  
			 Secretary of State for Scotland Sam White Scottish affairs 
			  Iain Gray  
			
			 Chancellor of the Exchequer(30) , (31) Ian Austin Communications 
			  Spencer Livermore  
			
			 Chief Secretary Nicola Murphy  
			  Jonathan Ashworth  
			
			 Secretary of State for Work and Chris Norton  
			 Pensions Tom Clark  
			
			 Minister without Portfolio Martin O'Donovan  
			  Blair McDougall  
		
	
	(28) Plus Lord Birt who is appointed as the Prime Minister's unpaid strategy adviser
	(29) In addition, Matthew Seward also works part-time for the Home Secretary
	(30) In addition, the Chancellor of the Exchequer has appointed Ed Miliband (Chairman), Paul Gregg, Shriti Vadera, Michael Jacobs and Stewart Wood to the Council of Economic Advisers on special adviser terms.
	(31) Plus Sue Nye appointed as an unpaid adviser
	Pay bands for 2004–05
	The pay bands and pay ranges for special advisers for 2004–05 are as follows:
	
		
			  £ 
		
		
			 Scheme maximum 133,628 
			 Pay band 4 80,178 to 96,213 
			 Pay band 3 and premium 59,867 to 93,005 
			 Pay band 2 47,038 to 61,785 
			 Pay band 1 36,348 to 48,456 
			 Pay band 0 Up to 36,347 
		
	
	Advisers by Pay Band
	At 19 July 2004, the number of special advisers in each pay band by Department is as follows:
	
		
			  Pay band 
			 Department 0 1 2 3 4 
		
		
			 No 10(32) 1 5 5 13 2 
			 Office of the Deputy Prime Minister — — 2 1 — 
			 Chief Whips' Offices (Commons and Lords) — 1 2 — — 
			 Constitutional Affairs — — — — 2 
			 Culture, Media and Sport — — 1 1 — 
			 Defence — 1 1 — — 
			 Education and Skills — — 1 1 — 
			 Environment, Food and Rural Affairs — 2 1 — — 
			 Foreign and Commonwealth Office — — — 2 — 
			 Health — — 2 1 — 
			 Home Office — — 4 — — 
			 International Development — 2 — — — 
			 Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Lords — 3 — — — 
			 Lord Privy Seal; Leader of the House of Commons and Secretary of State for Wales — 2 1 — — 
			 Northern Ireland Office — 1 1 — — 
			 Trade and Industry(33) — 1 1 1 — 
			 HM Treasury(34) — 2 — 2 — 
			 Secretary of State for Scotland and Secretary of State for Transport — 1 2 — — 
			 Work and Pensions — — 2 — — 
			 Minister without Portfolio — 2 — — — 
			 Total 1 23 26 22 4 
		
	
	(32) Plus two special advisers who are paid beyond pay band 4 but within the scheme maximum
	(33) Plus one adviser who is unpaid
	(34) Plus the five members of the Council of Economic Advisers who are employed on special adviser terms (one in band 4, three in band 3 and one in band 1). One of the members of the Council work part time.
	Paybill costs
	The cost of special advisers in 2003–04 is £5.3 million 1 .
	1 This figure includes salary, severance pay and an estimate of pensions costs.

United Healthcare

Paul Burstow: To ask the Prime Minister on what dates special advisers from his Office have met representatives of United Healthcare since 1 May; which of his special advisers took part in each meeting; and where each meeting was held.

Tony Blair: My officials and I have meetings and discussions with a wide range of organisations and individuals. As with previous Administrations it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such meetings, under Exemptions 2 and 7 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.

TREASURY

CITES (Contravention)

Norman Baker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what instances of international trade in contravention of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) have been (a) identified and (b) apprehended by UK authorities since January 2001, broken down by (i) species and (ii) CITES category; and if he will make a statement.

John Healey: HM Customs and Excise made 237 seizures of endangered species imported in air or sea freight in 2003.
	
		
			  Number of seizures Number of items seized Weight of items seized (kg) 
		
		
			 Live animals and birds 89 2,905 — 
			 Parts and derivatives of endangered species 79 1,443 — 
			 Ivory 18 96 — 
			 Plants 10 2,018 — 
			 Other CITES listed species 14 302 — 
			  9 — 32.9 
			 Preparations of oriental medicines that include parts or derivatives of 6 4,220,807 — 
			 endangered species 12 — 467.0 
		
	
	Seizures may be recorded by weight or number of seizures of items such as traditional Chinese medicines may be recorded either according to the individual count of capsules or according to the quantity of containers.
	Equivalent breakdowns for 2001 or 2002 would only be available at disproportionate cost. Information on CITES category is not recorded against individual seizures and in some cases the species could not be covered by two or more of the annexes in EU Regulation.

MRSA

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many and what percentage of deaths were caused by MRSA, or had MRSA as a contributing factor, in the last year for which figures are available, broken down by hospital; and if he will make a statement.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Andrew Mackinlay dated 22 July 2004
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many and what percentage of deaths were caused by MRS A, or had MRSA as a contributing factor in the last year for which figures are available, broken down by hospital. (184410)
	The latest year for which figures are available is 2002. The number of deaths contributed to by MRSA, by hospital, for this year is given in the table attached. This table includes hospitals where there were five or more deaths for which MRSA was recorded as a contributory factor. Where the number of deaths was less than five the number of deaths has not been provided, to minimise the risk of disclosure of confidential information.
	I am also placing in the House of Commons library a table showing all the establishments recorded by ONS as general hospitals or multi-function sites during 2002 at which there was:
	at least one death from any cause, and
	either no deaths where MRSA was a contributory factor, or fewer than five such deaths.
	It should be noted that it is not possible to put a firm figure to the number of people who die from MRSA because people are often very sick with a number of other conditions so the contribution of MRSA to the outcome in any particular case is uncertain. The underlying causeof death is most often the disease or injury which led them to be admitted to hospital, rather than the MRSA which may have complicated the course of the illness. Internationally accepted guidance from the World Health Organisation on the completion of death certificates requires only those conditions that contribute directly to death to be recorded.
	
		Number of deaths where MRSA was a contributory factor(35),by hospital 2
		
			 Hospital name No. of deaths where MRSA was a contributory factor Percentage of all deaths 
		
		
			 England and Wales 721 0.2 
			 Hospitals with five or more deaths where MRSA was a contributory factor 
			 Addenbrookes Hospital, Cambridge 10 0.6 
			 Alexandra Hospital, Redditch 5 0.7 
			 Arrowe Park Hospital, Birkenhead 5 0.3 
			 Ashford Hospital 6 0.9 
			 Birmingham Heartlands Hospital 17 0.9 
			 Bristol Royal Infirmary 6 0.5 
			 Broomfield Hospital, Chelmsford 8 0.6 
			 City Hospital, Winson Green 10 0.7 
			 Conquest Hospital, St. Leonards on Sea 9 0.7 
			 Derriford Hospital, Plymouth 22 1.1 
			 Freeman Hospital, Newcastle 9 0.9 
			 General Hospital, Bishop Auckland 5 0.8 
			 General Hospital, Southampton 7 0.3 
			 General Infirmary, Leeds 11 0.6 
			 George Eliot Hospital, Nuneaton 5 0.4 
			 Hull Royal Infirmary 5 0.3 
			 Ipswich Hospital NHS Trust 9 0.5 
			 King's College Hospital, London 5 0.4 
			 Lister Hospital, Stevenage 5 0.4 
			 Luton and Dunstable Hospital 5 0.4 
			 Maelor Hospital, Wrexham 10 0.8 
			 Medway Maritime Hospital, Gillingham 13 0.8 
			 Morriston Hospital, Swansea 7 0.5 
			 Musgrove Park Hospital, Taunton 7 0.5 
			 New Cross Hospital, Wolverhampton 8 0.4 
			 Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital 7 0.3 
			 North Middlesex Hospital, Edmonton 5 0.5 
			 Prince Charles Hospital, Merthyr Tydfil 6 0.6 
			 Princess Margaret Hospital, Swindon 5 0.4 
			 Princess of Wales Hospital, Bridgend, Mid Glamorgan 6 0.6 
			 Queen Alexandra Hospital, Portsmouth 15 0.7 
			 Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Edgbaston 5 0.6 
			 Royal Berkshire Hospital, Reading 5 0.4 
			 Royal Cornwall Hospital, Truro 5 0.4 
			 Royal Infirmary, Doncaster 6 0.4 
			 Royal Infirmary, Huddersfield 5 0.5 
			 Royal Preston Hospital 5 0.4 
			 Royal Sussex County Hospital, Brighton 6 0.4 
			 Southmead Hospital, Bristol 5 0.5 
			 St. Helier Hospital, Carshalton 5 0.4 
			 St. Mary's Hospital, Westminster 9 1.0 
			 St. Thomas's Hospital, London 9 0.8 
			 Stoke Mandeville Hospital, Aylesbury 5 0.7 
			 Torbay Hospital 5 0.4 
			 University Hospital Aintree 7 0.4 
			 University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff 8 0.4 
			 University Hospital, Nottingham 6 0.3 
			 Warwick Hospital 5 0.5 
			 Whittington Hospital St. Mary's Wing, Islington 6 0.7 
			 Wycombe General Hospital 5 0.6 
		
	
	(35) Identified using the methodology described in Griffiths C, Lamagni TL, Crowcroft NS, Duckworth G and Rooney C (2004) Trends in MRSA in England and Wales; analysis of morbidity and mortality data for 1993–2002. Health Statistics Quarterly 21, 15–22.
	(36) Defined as general hospitals or multi-function sites using the ONS classification of establishment types.
	Note: Figures are for deaths occurring in 2002.

Pensions Mis-selling (Compensation)

Adam Price: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many individual general pensions mis-selling cases have been settled by compensation in the last year for which figures are available.

Ruth Kelly: The Financial Services Authority, the Financial Ombudsman Service and the Financial Services Compensation Scheme are independent bodies.
	I understand from the Financial Services Authority, the Financial Ombudsman Service and the Financial Services Compensation Scheme that the following pensions cases has been resolved in the last year.
	
		
			  Number of cases at 31 March 2004 
		
		
			 Pensions review cases carried out by the financial industry 23,600 
			 Pensions review cases conducted by the Financial Services Authority in conjunction with the Financial Services Compensation Scheme for those firms that are unable to meet claims against them. 3,335 
			 Pension cases resolved by the Financial Ombudsman Service (including those cases relating to personal pensions, pensions review, free-standing additional voluntary contributions schemes, annuity contracts and all other products with a pensions element.) 6,265

Pensions Mis-selling (Compensation)

Adam Price: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what checks are carried out to ensure that compensation in cases of pension mis-selling are equivalent to reinstatement of the original pension scheme.

Ruth Kelly: I understand from the FSA that in the case of pension compensation cases which are part of the formal Pensions Review, recompense is not normally payable in the form of cash but by addition to the individual's pension. The term "redress" is apposite rather than the term "compensation".
	Where a loss has been caused by non-compliant advice and reinstatement into the original pension scheme is available at fair cost, then an offer of reinstatement must be made.
	Otherwise, the normal method of redress is by topping-up the individual's personal pension. The value of pension and other benefits that would have been available from the original pension scheme, is compared with that from the personal pension after allowing for any relevant differences in the individual's pension contributions. The shortfall in value is added to the personal pension as redress.
	As the level of benefits and risks differ between pension arrangements the method of working out the value of benefits needs to allow for this. Under the Pensions Review, which reviewed sales of personal pensions between 29 April 1988 and 30 June 1994, and which is now virtually complete save for relatively few difficult cases, the following method and checks applied:
	To ensure that benefits provided by the personal pensions were equivalent in value to those provided by the original pension scheme, the method of valuation was specified in regulatory provisions using actuarial methodology together with assumptions about future investment return, inflation and longevity.
	These assumptions were based on independent actuarial advice, confirmed by the actuarial profession and regularly reviewed.
	Where other assumptions were needed about the individual's particular situation, either standard amounts were specified in the regulator's provisions or sufficiently important assumptions were required to be disclosed to the individual so that he or she could question them and provide further information if available.
	Firms were required to confirm that the redress complied with the regulatory provisions for each case and also to carry out audits of their review process and results.
	In addition, firms were subject to supervisory checks by the regulators.
	If a consumer was not content with the offer made and was unable to resolve his or her concerns with the firm, he or she had the right to complain to the relevant Ombudsman, the normal time scales for complaints having been waived.
	General pensions complaints are dealt with by the Financial Ombudsman Service for solvent firms and by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme for firms that are unable to meet claims against them.

Aggregates Tax

Alan Reid: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much aggregates tax has been levied in total in Argyll and Bute constituency in each year since the tax was first levied.

John Healey: A breakdown of Aggregates Levy receipts is not available by individual parliamentary constituency.

Air Passenger Duty

Tom Cox: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the income has been in each of the last three years from the payment of air passenger duty; and if he will make a statement.

John Healey: The revenues from air passenger duty are published online in the HMC&E Air Passenger Duty Bulletin at www.uktradeinfo.com. In each of the last three calendar years these were:
	
		£ million
		
			  Revenue 
		
		
			 2001 834 
			 2002 809 
			 2003 778

Balance of Trade

Kenneth Clarke: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what has been the level of the UK deficit in the balance of traded goods in each of the last seven years.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Kenneth Clarke, dated 22 July 2004
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question on the United Kingdom's deficit on trade in goods. (186211)
	The following table shows the latest estimates for the UK balance of trade in goods. The figures shown are consistent with the published Balance of Payment "Pink Book". The balance of trade in goods is the value of goods exported less the value of goods imported.
	
		
			  Balance of trade in goods (£ million) 
		
		
			 1997 -12,342 
			 1998 -21,813 
			 1999 -29,051 
			 2000 -32,976 
			 2001 -40,648 
			 2002 -46,675 
			 2003 -47,290

Business Investment

Kenneth Clarke: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what has been the percentage change in the level of business investment in the United Kingdom in each of the last seven years.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Kenneth Clarke, dated 22 July 2004
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question concerning the percentage change in the level of business investment in each of the last seven years. (186209)
	The information requested is shown in the table below, consistent with the Business Investment First Release published on 1 July. The table uses the Chained volume measure series, which exclude the effects of price changes.
	
		Annual percentage change in business investment (Chained volume measures)—UK, 1997–2003
		
			  Period Business investment (annual percentage change) 
		
		
			 1997 +10.1 
			 1998 +18.1 
			 1999 +2.8 
			 2000 +4.6 
			 2001 +1.9 
			 2002 +0.6 
			 2003 -0.9

Child Care Tax Credit

David Willetts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many childcare tax credit payments have been made in respect of children aged (a) under one, two, three and four years, (b) five, six, seven and eight years and (c) who are eight years old in the latest period for which figures are available.

Dawn Primarolo: The following table shows the number of families benefiting from the childcare element of Working Tax Credit at 5 April 2004, with an estimated analysis by the ages of the children for whom eligible childcare costs were incurred:
	
		Ages of children for whom eligible childcare costs incurred,5 April 2004
		
			 Age combination of children for whom eligible childcare costs incurred Number of families benefiting from the childcare element of Working Tax Credit 1 (Thousand) 
		
		
			 All aged under five 170 
			 Aged under five, and five to eight 20 
			 Other with aged under five 10 
			 Aged five to eight only 50 
			 Aged five to eight, and older 20 
			 Aged over eight only 50 
			 Total 320 
		
	
	(37) Those claiming the childcare element, and with Child Tax Credit above the family element. Rounded to the nearest 10,000.

Child Care Tax Credit

David Willetts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the total expenditure on the childcare tax credit in 2003–04; how many recipients there were of childcare tax credit in that year; what the average payment was; and in respect of how many children payments were made.

Dawn Primarolo: For the level of child care support provided through the child care element of working tax credit, I refer the hon. Member to my answer to the hon. Member for Mid Dorset and North Poole (Mrs. Brooke) on 27 April 2004, Official Report, column 866W.
	The number of families benefiting from this element, and the average help with child care costs, appear in the various issues of "Child and Working Tax Credits. Quarterly Statistics", which can be found on the Inland Revenue website, at www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk/stats/personal-tax-credits/menu.htm.
	It is estimated that these families incurred eligible child care costs for an average of 1.3 children.

Civil Service Recruitment

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer based on the 2004 Spending Review, how many civil service jobs he estimates will be lost in the area of Coventry, South; from which Departments and agencies; and what assessment he has made of the likely effect on services to the public.

Paul Boateng: There will be an overall gross reduction in posts of 84,150 by 2008 and Departments will pursue these reductions in line with business need. It is not yet possible to say where reductions will happen on a geographic or departmental basis as Departments are still developing these plans.

Civil Service Recruitment

Philip Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what controls he is proposing to ensure that Civil Service job cuts as a result of his announcements in Budget 2004 and Spending Review 2004 are not replaced by consultants hired by departments but not on departmental payrolls.

Paul Boateng: The civil service job cuts are being made because new technology enables us to reduce the number of personnel required to deliver services. The 2004 Spending Review also announced that every department is required to consider and agree with the Office of Government Commerce by December 2004 how to pursue improvements in the value for money of all procurement of external professional services.

Civil Service Recruitment

Andrew Turner: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to his announcement on 12 July, how many Civil Service posts he expects to be (a) abolished and (b) re-assigned to front line services in each Government Department and agency.

Paul Boateng: holding answer 20 July 2004
	With the detailed plans Departments are publishing for the years to 2008, the Chancellor announced at the Spending Review a gross reduction in civil service posts of 84,150—of which 13,550 posts will be reassigned to frontline services to release resourced from administration to invest in the front line.
	The Devolved Administrations in Scotland and Wales and the Northern Ireland Office have also announced that they are engaged in Spending Review efficiency and evaluation exercises as ambitious as those in England—with reductions also in back office and related areas; and with the 2.5 per cent. annual efficiency savings applied to the settlement for local government in England, this allows for a reduction of a further 20,000.
	Public Servants asked to change jobs will be offered support with retraining and we are ready to work with the work force and their unions to provide that help.

Civil Service Recruitment

Andrew Turner: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what definition he uses of frontline for the purposes of his announcement on12 July about reductions in civil service staff; and which posts in each Department and agency fall within that definition.

Paul Boateng: holding answer 20 July 2004
	The 2004 Spending Review announced reductions of 84,150 posts by 2008. Of this, 13,550 posts will be redeployed to key frontline areas in HM Revenue and Customs, the Department for Transport or the Department for Work and Pensions. These redeployments from back office functions will enable increases in key frontline roles, for example personal advisors in Job Centre Plus.

Cotton Oil Imports

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the (a) value and (b) volume of cotton oil imports into the UK was in the last year for which records are available, broken down by country of origin.

John Healey: Provisional estimates for annual imports for 2003 were published by HM Customs and Excise in the Overseas Trade Statistics in February 2004. The final (revised) figures will be available from the HMCE www.uktradeinfo.com website in August 2004 (when final figures for 2003 are published). The value and volume of cotton oil imported into the UK in 2003, broken down by country of origin are:
	
		Imports of cotton seed oil and its fractions, crude and refined general trade: 2003 1
		
			 Country of dispatch/ origin(39) Statistical value (£1,000)  Netmass (tonnes) 
		
		
			 Imports from EU countries 
			 France 13.1 2.1 
			 Netherlands 139.6 269.6 
			 Germany 2.7 1.7 
			 Italy 47.7 49.6 
			 Total EU 203.1 322.9 
			
			 Imports from non-EU countries 
			 Canada 5.9 2.7 
			 China 8.1 6.3 
			 USA 170.1 80.0 
			 Total non-EU 184.0 89.1 
			 All countries total 387.2 412.0 
		
	
	(38) Provisional figures, may be subject to revision.
	(39) Country of origin for non-EU imports; country of dispatch for EU imports (country of origin not available for EU trade).
	Source:
	Overseas Trade Statistics, HM Customs and Excise

Crown Estate

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much the Crown Estate spent on (a) public relations and (b) corporate hospitality in the last financial year.

Ruth Kelly: The information for financial year 2003–04 is as follows:
	(a) 267,452 1
	(b) 9,456.
	1 Public Relations expenditure is defined as the Communication Department's budget less staff costs and production of the Annual Report and Accounts.

Crown Estate

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the cost was of producing the Crown Estate's 2004 annual report.

Ruth Kelly: The Crown Estate annual report and accounts 2004 has only recently been completed and distributed. Final costs have not yet been determined.

Departmental Agency Staff

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the total amount paid by his Department to employment agencies for the supply of temporary staff was in financial year 2003–04.

Ruth Kelly: The total cost incurred by HM Treasury for the supply of temporary staff by employment agencies in the financial year 2003–04 was £1,386,000.

Departmental Vehicles

David Kidney: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many road vehicles are operated by the Department and its agencies; how many personal injury accidents involving road vehicles operated by the Department have occurred within each of the last five years; and what the Department's policy is for managing work-related road safety.

Ruth Kelly: Total number of road vehicles operated by the Chancellor's Departments and agencies is 4,785.
	The number of Personal Injury Accidents in each of the last five years was:
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 1999–2000 47 
			 2000–01 44 
			 2001–02 31 
			 2002–03 31 
			 2003–04 32 
		
	
	The Chancellor's Departments and agencies are committed to the delivery of their obligations under Health and Safety legislation with regard to driving on official business.

Economic Growth

David Willetts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much the British economy grew on average per annum (a) in total and (b) per capita in the period (i) 1993 to 1998 and (ii) 1998 to 2003.

Ruth Kelly: This information is set out in the following table.
	
		Percentage
		
			  Average GDP growth per annum Average GDP growth per capita per annum 
			  Real terms (chained-volumes) Nominal terms (current prices) Real terms (chained-volumes) Nominal terms (current prices) 
		
		
			 1997–2003 2.8 5.4 2.4 5.0 
			 1992–97 2.7 5.6 2.4 5.3 
			  
			 1998–2003 2.7 5.2 2.3 4.9 
			 1993–98 3.1 5.9 2.9 5.6 
		
	
	Source:
	Treasury Economic Statistics (ONS)

Employment Tribunals

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many cases against his Department, and the agencies for which it is responsible have been brought to employment tribunals in each year since 1997 in relation to (a) equal pay, (b) sex discrimination, (c) race discrimination, (d) disability discrimination and (e) unfair dismissal; how many cost awards were made against (i) respondents and (ii) applicants; and how much has been spent (A) settling and (B) contesting claims.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested is as follows:
	
		
			 Cases to ET Number of cases Cost awards made against respondents (£000) Cost awards made against applicants (£000) 
		
		
			 Equal Pay 1 - - 
			 Racial Discrimination 4 5,000 - 
			 Sex Discrimination 2 500 - 
			 Disability Discrimination 5 - - 
			 Unfair Dismissal 11 - 14,000 
			 
			 Total 23 5,500 14,000 
		
	
	
		(A) and (B) Settling and contesting claims -- £000
		
			  1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 Total 
		
		
			 Settlement Cost 3,000 5,000 0 11,293 47,500 15,148 19,800 101,741 
			 Contesting Claims 4,700 117,374 0 23,185 32,386 19,773 7,700 205,118 
			 Total: 7,700 122,374 0 34,478 79,886 34,921 27,500 306,859 
		
	
	Note:
	Settlement and contesting costs not available for one case in 2000 and 2001 and 2003

Endowment Mortgages (Compensation)

Richard Spring: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to compensate people who bought endowment mortgages before the system of regulation covering the sale of these came into existence and who cannot pursue a claim through the normal regulatory channels; and if he will make a statement.

Ruth Kelly: The Government supports the Financial Services Authority's proposal to conduct further analysis to identify those people who were sold an endowment policy before 29 April 1988 that is forecast to shortfall. The Government also supports the efforts of the FSA and industry to explore the scope for voluntary action to help people in this situation. The Government have no plans to compensate people who bought endowment mortgages before 29 April 1988.

EU Financial Regulation

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the (a) proportion and (b) cost of new financial sector regulation that derives from the EU.

Ruth Kelly: As stated by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in his Mansion House speech of 16 June 2004, three-quarters of financial services regulation is derived from the European Union. There is no estimate available of the total cost in the UK of financial sector regulation derived from the EU.

European Single Market

George Foulkes: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment has been made of the effect on UK consumers of (a) competition and the (b) free flow of trade as a result of membership of the European single market; and if he will make a statement.

Mike O'Brien: I have been asked to reply.
	The European Commission estimates that in the 10 years after 1992 the internal market created 2.5 million jobs in the EU and increased its GDP by €877 billion. This amounts to an average €5,700 of extra income per household (source: European Commission (2002) "The Internal Market—10 Years without Frontiers"). In addition to increased jobs and prosperity, the Commission report points to benefits to consumers from the increased choice, price competition, and product quality and innovation in the world's largest single market. For example, according to a Commission survey, 80 per cent. of EU citizens believed that the internal market has led to wider choice and 67 per cent. that it had led to improved quality.

European Single Market

George Foulkes: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effects on the compliance and development costs to (a) British exporters and (b) British consumers of EU single market rules which allow products approved in one EU country to be sold across the EU.

Mike O'Brien: I have been asked to reply.
	British exporters have benefited from reduced compliance and development costs, resulting from the removal of frontier controls and from rules that allow goods to be traded across the EU rather than complying with 25 different sets of national laws. The 1988 Cecchini Report ("The Cost Of non-Europe") estimated the cost saving to EU business of removal of internal frontier controls alone in a Union then consisting of 12 members states at €8 billion. In its report, "The Internal Market—10 Years without Frontiers" (European Commission (2002)), the European Commission notes that before the frontiers came down, the tax system alone required 60 million customs clearance documents annually: these are no longer needed. The Commission's report notes how a strong, competitive internal market has helped firms become more productive and efficient and so enhanced their ability to compete in global markets. It sets out benefits to consumers from the greater prosperity, choice, price competition and product innovation that the world's largest internal market brings.

Government Offices (East Midlands)

Stephen Dorrell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many full-time equivalent employees of Customs and Excise in the east midlands there were in each year since 1997.

John Healey: The figures are based on the number of staff in post at April 2001 each year. The regional distribution of permanent (including fixed term) staff in all Government Departments is published annually by the Cabinet Office in table D of Civil Service Statistics', a copy of which is available in the Library of the House. The number of HMC and E permanent staff based in the east midlands region for 1997–2002 are:
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 1997 1,104 
			 1998 884 
			 1999 863 
			 2000 850 
			 2001 770 
			 2002 720 
		
	
	Figure for 2003 and 2004 are currently unavailable, however, the Cabinet Office are expected to publish figures for 2003 shortly.

Government Offices (East Midlands)

Stephen Dorrell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what government offices have been identified for closure in the east midlands in the light of the Comprehensive Spending Review.

Paul Boateng: There will be an overall gross reduction in posts of 84,150 by 2008 and Departments will pursue these reductions in line with business need. Departments continue to plan the implementation of their efficiency programmes.

Household Savings, Liabilities and Debt

Kenneth Clarke: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what the level of household savings expressed as a percentage of UK gross domestic product has been in each of the last seven years;
	(2)  what the level of (a) household liabilities and (b) household debt expressed as a percentage of UK gross domestic product has been in each of the last seven years.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Kenneth Clarke, dated 22 July 2004
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your two recent Parliamentary Questions on the level of household savings; the level of household liabilities and the level of household debt, each expressed as a percentage of UK gross domestic product in each of the last seven years. (186213 and 186215)
	The information requested is shown in the table below. Household debt is measured as the total of household outstanding liabilities at the end of the period and hence only the latter is shown in the table.
	The household series used for these data are for the combined household and non-profit institutions serving households (NPISH) sectors. The accounts for the household and NPISH sectors are currently combined: separate estimates are not available.
	
		Household 1 savings and liabilities as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) UK, 1997–2003
		
			  Household 1 savings as a percentage of GDP Household 1 liabilities(41) as a percentage of GDP 
		
		
			 1997 6.8 73.0 
			 1998 4.4 73.3 
			 1999 3.7 75.4 
			 2000 3.9 78.0 
			 2001 5.0 82.4 
			 2002 4.1 89.2 
			 2003 4.2 95.7 
		
	
	(40) Estimates are for the combined household and non-profit institutions serving households (NPISH) sectors.
	(41) Total outstanding liabilities at the end of each year.

Ministerial Visits

David Davis: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  if he will list the travel costs incurred by (a) his Department and (b) each Minister within his Department, for each of the last 10 years;
	(2)  how many journeys were made by helicopter by each Minister in his Department in each of the last 10 years; and what the journey length was in each case.

Ruth Kelly: Since 1999 the Government have published annually a list of all visits overseas undertaken by Cabinet Ministers costing £500 or more during each financial year. The Government have also published each year since 1995–96 the total annual cost of all Ministers' visits overseas. Copies of the lists are available in the Libraries of the House. Information for 2003–04 will be published later today.
	In respect of total travel costs for civil servants in the department I refer the r hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave to the Member for Twickenham (Dr. Cable) on 19 July 2004 (Official Report, column 43–6W) which gave the costs for the financial years 1997–98 to 2003–04. The total costs on the same basis for 1996–97 were £951,347. Information for earlier years is no longer held. It is not possible to give a breakdown of total travel costs by individual Ministers.
	I refer the right hon. Gentleman to the answer given to the Member for West Chelmsford (Mr. Burns) on 27 February 2003 which stated that no flights by helicopter were made between 2001 and 27 February 2003. Information relating to other years is not held by the department.
	All ministerial travel is undertaken in accordance with the rules set out in the Ministerial Code and Travel by Ministers, copies of which are available in the Libraries of the House.

MOD Administration Costs

Keith Simpson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer for what reasons the Ministry of Defence does not have an administration costs limit.

Paul Boateng: The Ministry of Defence was originally excluded from the administration cost control regime because it could have discouraged inter-changeability between Service and civilian personnel. The Ministry of Defence is not exempt from the administration costs efficiency target announced in the 2004 Budget. This target applies to all departments and MOD will be required to freeze the equivalent of its administration budget over the Spending Review years.

Oil Reserves

David Chaytor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list, for each of the last 10 years, (a) the total output and (b) the total Exchequer revenue from the UK's oil reserves; and what assessment he has made of (i) output and (ii) revenue in each of the next 10 years.

Ruth Kelly: Annual information on UK indigenous oil production to 2002 can be found at http://www.dti.gov.uk/energy/inform/energy stats/oil/dukes3 1 1.xls and more recent monthly information at http://www.dti.gov.uk/energy/inform/energy stats/oil/3 10oilproduction-ettab13.xls
	The latest available DTI forecasts of UK oil production, from 2004 to 2009, can be found at http://www.og.dti.gov.uk/information/bb updates/chapters/Section4 17.htm
	And historic Inland Revenue financial year tax receipts jointly from North Sea oil and gas, together with published Budget 2004 projections for 2004–05, can be found at http://www.og.dti.gov.uk/information/bb updates/appendices/Appendix8.htm
	Table C9 on page 261 of Budget 2004 shows longer term projections of North Sea revenues as a percentage of GDP.

Tax Credits

Steve Webb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 10 December 2003, Official Report, columns 494–95W, on tax credits, if he will update the tables for each month for which figures are available.

Dawn Primarolo: The number of manual tax credits payments issued in each month between December 2003 and March 2004 is shown in the table. Manual giro payments are made particularly to deal with an immediate change in circumstances pending automatic payments being adjusted.
	
		
			  (42)Number of manual tax credit payments (43)Number of automatic direct payments (million) 
		
		
			 December 2003 14,000 11.5 
			 January 2004 16,000 10.5 
			 February 2004 17,000 10.5 
			 March 2004 22,000 12.5 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. These figures cover all manual payments—that is, giro payments issued by local offices, or issued by other Inland Revenue offices but outside the main tax credits automatic payment mechanisms. They are rounded to the nearest 1,000. The previous figures covered only same-day payments issued by local offices.
	2. The numbers of automatic direct payments are rounded to the nearest 0.5 million.

Personal Income Tax Allowance

David Willetts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate (a) the gross cost and (b) the cost net of savings in social security benefits of raising the personal income tax allowance to £10,000 per annum.

Dawn Primarolo: The cost of raising the personal income tax allowances to £10,000 per annum in 2004–05 is (a) £29.8 billion in gross costs and (b) £29.6 billion in costs net of savings of social security benefits. The figures exclude any estimate of behavioural response to the tax change.
	The gross costs are based on the Survey of Personal Incomes 2001–02 and are consistent with the Budget 2004. The savings from social security benefits are from the DWP Policy Simulation Model, based upon the Family Resources Survey 2002–03 and consistent with the Budget 2004.

Population Register

Harry Cohen: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will place in the Library formal privacy impact assessments relating to the population register which is being compiled by the Registrar General.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the General Registrar for England and Wales, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Harry Cohen, dated 22 July 2004
	As Registrar General for England and Wales, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question concerning privacy impact assessments relating to the population register. (185953)
	Work on the Citizen Information Project is being taken forward by the General Register Office (GRO), part of the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The Project is concerned with establishing the potential of a population register for providing cost savings and improvements to the delivery of public services. It is currently in the project definition stage. A detailed business case has still to be developed and no decision has been taken yet as to whether or not the population register should proceed to implementation.
	ONS is considering, its plans for public consultation. We would anticipate that a privacy impact assessment would form part of any formal consultation process. Any consultation document would be placed in the Library of the House of Commons, in line with standard procedure.

Spending Review (Job Reductions)

Oliver Letwin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the estimated reductions in work force planned in (a) local government, (b) the Scottish Executive and (c) the Welsh Assembly.

Adam Price: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what the basis was for his estimate of 20,000 job reductions in the devolved Administration and in local government in England and Wales announced in the Comprehensive Spending Review;
	(2)  whether he (a) requested and (b) received estimates for the number of job reductions in the devolved Administrations and in local government announced in the Comprehensive Spending Review from (i) the National Assembly for Wales, (ii) the Scottish Executive, (iii) the Northern Ireland Executive and (iv) the Local Government Association.

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what methodology was used to calculate the reduction by 20,000 of jobs in devolved Governments;
	(2)  with which National Assembly for Wales Government members he agreed the civil service jobs reductions in Wales;
	(3)  how many Civil Service jobs will be lost in Wales as a result of his announcement in the 2004 Spending Review;
	(4)  what consultations there will be with the National Assembly for Wales before the civil service jobs reductions he has announced take place.

Paul Boateng: holding answer 16 July 2004
	The devolved Administrations in Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland Ministers have announced that they are engaged in Spending Review efficiency and evaluation exercises as ambitious as those in England—with reductions also in back office and related areas; and with the 2.5 per cent. annual efficiency savings to which local government in England is committed, this would allow for a reduction of 20,000 posts across local government and the devolved Administrations.
	The devolved Administrations will be making their own announcements in the context of their spending plans in the autumn and the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and other Government Departments will work in partnership with the Local Government Association to help local government drive forward the efficiency agenda.

Spending Review (Job Reductions)

Oliver Letwin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the amounts, by Department, which make up the total overlap of £5.650 million efficiencies across central and local government referred to in Table 2.1 of the 2004 Spending Review Report.

Paul Boateng: The local government proposed savings of £6,450 million includes a forecast of £5,650 million of savings including, in procurement, productive time, and public finance and regulation, which are included in the proposed savings for Department for Education and Skills, Department for Transport, Department for Health, Home Office, Department for Work and Pensions, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Department for Culture, Media and Sport, and the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. I refer the hon. Member to chapter C of Sir Peter Gershon's report for further details of individual departmental efficiency programmes.

Spending Review (Job Reductions)

Sue Doughty: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how many civil service jobs will be lost in the Guildford constituency as a result of the cuts announced in the July Spending Review;
	(2)  which (a) Departments and (b) agencies will make job cuts in the Guildford constituency as a result of the July Spending Review;
	(3)  what services in the Guildford constituency will be affected by the job cuts announced in the July Spending Review.

Paul Boateng: There will be an overall gross reduction in posts of 84,150 by 2008 and Departments will pursue these reductions in line with business need. Departments continue to plan the implementation of their efficiency programmes.

Stamp Duty

David Willetts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what has been the cost to the Exchequer of providing stamp duty relief to residential properties under the value of £150,000 in deprived areas in each month since November 2001;
	(2)  how many property transactions have taken place paying stamp duty at 0 per cent. for (a) residential properties in deprived areas and (b) non-residential properties in deprived areas in the Havant constituency in each month since November 2001;
	(3)  what the total number is of property transactions which have taken place at the zero rate of stamp duty in deprived areas since it was introduced; how many have taken place in those areas bearing stamp duty; and how many property transactions bearing stamp duty have taken place in the UK in the same period;
	(4)  how many property transactions have taken place paying stamp duty at 0 per cent. for (a) residential properties in deprived areas and (b) non-residential properties in deprived areas (i) in each month since November 2001 and (ii) in total.

Ruth Kelly: The cost to the Exchequer of stamp duty relief on residential properties in the qualifying disadvantaged areas is given in the following table for each month since November 2001. The number of residential transactions in qualifying disadvantaged areas which received the relief is also shown in the table together with the number of non residential transactions receiving the relief in these areas. The information has been given for Great Britain as information for Northern Ireland is not readily available on a monthly basis for the whole period.
	Information is not reliable enough to be given at the parliamentary constituency level for every month since inception.
	Information is only available since inception of the relief for numbers of transactions in disadvantaged areas which would otherwise pay stamp duty but do not do so because of the relief. Counts of transactions in qualifying disadvantaged areas since inception are not available for transactions below the liability threshold or above the threshold at which the relief ceases to apply.
	There were 3.0 million transactions between inception of the relief and June 2004 in the UK whose value was above the appropriate stamp duty threshold and which did not benefit from Disadvantaged Areas Relief.
	
		
			  Number of residential transactions receiving Disadvantaged Area Relief in Great Britain (thousand) l Number of non residential transactions receiving Disadvantaged Area Relief in Great Britain (thousand) l Cost to the Exchequer of providing Disadvantaged Area Relief in Great Britain (£ million) 1 
		
		
			 2001
			 November 0.7 <0.1 1 
			 December 3.5 <0.1 3 
			 
			 2002
			 January 3.0 <0.1 3 
			 February 3.1 <0.1 3 
			 March 4.4 <0.1 4 
			 April 4.2 <0.1 4 
			 May 5.8 <0.1 5 
			 June 5.0 <0.1 5 
			 July 5.7 <0.1 5 
			 August 5.7 <0.1 5 
			 September 5.2 <0.1 5 
			 October 5.5 <0.1 5 
			 November 6.4 <0.1 6 
			 December 5.8 <0.1 5 
			 
			 2003
			 January 4.7 <0.1 4 
			 February 5.0 0.1 5 
			 March 5.8 0.2 5 
			 April 6.2 0.4 6 
			 May 7.0 0.6 7 
			 June 7.4 0.7 7 
			 July 7.6 0.6 7 
			 August 7.9 0.6 7 
			 September 6.2 0.6 6 
			 October 5.2 0.6 5 
			 November 4.8 0.6 5 
			 December(43) 2.5 0.1 2 
			 
			 2004
			 January(43) 8.0 0.6 7 
			 February(43) 8.2 0.5 7 
			 March(43) 8.5 0.5 7 
			 April(43) 9.8 0.8 9 
			 May(43) 10.3 0.7 9 
			 June(43) 11.7 0.7 10 
		
	
	(42) Counts to the end of November 2003 are based on the date of completion of the transaction. Counts from 1 December 2003 are based on the date the transaction was received at the office set up for processing the transactions.
	(43) Because of the change to the new data collection and processing system as a result of the introduction of Stamp Duty Land Tax, care should be taken in interpreting monthly movements since December.

Employment (Tamworth)

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people over 65 years have been in work in Tamworth constituency in each year since 1997.

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Brian Jenkins, dated 22 July 2004
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many people over 65 years have been in work in Tamworth constituency in each year since 1997. (185834)
	The Office for National-Statistics' Labour Force Survey sample size is too small to give reliable estimates of the number of people aged 65 and over in employment in the Tamworth Parliamentary Constituency in each year since 1997.

Tax Credits (Overpayments and Underpayments)

Steve Webb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the (a) total and (b) average (i) number and (ii) value of additional payments made in 2003–04 was to ensure that paying back tax credits overpayments did not cause hardship to families.

Dawn Primarolo: As at 5 April 2004, there were six million families benefiting from tax credits. The Code of Practice sets out the circumstances in which additional payments may be made (for example as a result of their reporting changes in circumstance such as a rise in income). In 2003–04, in line with the code, around 65,000 such payments were made to tax credit recipients whose 2003–04 tax credit award had been reduced. The total value of those additional payments was around £20 million.

Trainee Inspector of Taxes Programme

Mark Prisk: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the target number of (a) full-time and (b) part-time recruits is for the Inland Revenue's Trainee Inspector of Taxes Programme for July 2004.

Dawn Primarolo: There are currently 234 vacancies for tax inspectors throughout the UK. The vacancies are not advertised in terms of part time or full time. Candidates may apply to work part time if they wish.

Wind Power (Tax Avoidance)

Andrew Turner: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment has been made of the scope for tax avoidance in the trading of renewable obligations certificates by wind power companies registered in the UK but whose beneficial ownership is offshore.

John Healey: Tax rules for wind farms are no different to those applying to other kinds of UK registered business. The Government keep all taxes under review and any changes will be announced as part of the normal Budget process.

LEADER OF THE HOUSE

Sub Judice Resolution

Sally Keeble: To ask the Leader of the House if he will bring forward proposals to amend the House's sub judice Resolution to allow reference to matters before coroners' courts.

Peter Hain: I have no plans to do so, though I am willing to consider suggestions for change on this, as on other matters.

CABINET OFFICE

Constable of Lancaster Castle

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office who was consulted on the most recent appointment of the Constable of Lancaster Castle.

Douglas Alexander: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave him on 6 July 2004, Official Report, column 641W.

Access to Government Services

Virginia Bottomley: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office when he will next publish a report on the achievements and progress towards targets on accessibility of government services to disabled people.

Maria Eagle: I have been asked to reply.
	Progress against the Public Service Agreement target relating to electronic service delivery by government departments is reported in the UK online annual report and quarterly updates are posted on the e-Government Unit website. The annual report for 2003 stated that two-thirds of all central government services are now available electronically and departments continue to make progress towards getting all services online by 2005. The quarterly update for Quarter 4 2003 shows that departments had e-enabled 71 per cent. of services to citizens and businesses.
	Provision of online Government information for disabled people and unpaid carers has been greatly improved with the launch of Directgov in April 2004. The site meets World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) level A standard. Directgov presents information in a clear and structured way covering a range of areas such as rights, employment, independent living and health. The site offers links through to existing services—such as claiming carer's allowance online. As more government services become available, Directgov will expand to include them.

Civil Service Contracts

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what percentage of civil servants are employed on a fixed contract basis.

Douglas Alexander: holding answer 20 July 2004
	The percentage of civil servants employed on a fixed term contract was 1.2 per cent., on 1 October 2003. That figure is based on those departments that supply appointment status data centrally and covers approximately three quarters of all civil servants.
	More detailed information on the Civil Service is published annually in Civil Service Statistics, copies of which are available in the Library.

Civil Service Recruitment

Bill Tynan: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what reduction in (a) the Senior Civil Service and (b) Senior Civil Service recruitment is planned as part of concentrating civil service resources in the frontline.

Douglas Alexander: Departments are currently in the process of drawing up detailed plans to implement the Spending Review 2004. It is for individual Departments to determine, as part of their plans, the staffing requirements at senior level that match their business priorities.

Civil Service Recruitment

Bill Tynan: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many Civil Service Fast Streamers (a) are in post and (b) will be recruited this year.

Douglas Alexander: The Cabinet Office collects figures from Departments on numbers of Fast Streamers 'In post' as at 1 April each year. The latest figures for which information is available (1 April 2003) showed 1,164 Fast Streamers recorded as being 'In Post' in the Fast Stream entry grade.
	The recruitment competitions for Fast Streamers for the current year are yet to finish, to date, 418 candidates have been recommended for appointment and it is anticipated that the final number will be around 450.

Civil Service Recruitment

Bill Tynan: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what reduction in (a) Fast Stream posts and (b) Fast Stream recruitment is planned as a part of concentrating civil service resources in the frontline.

Douglas Alexander: Individual Government Departments are responsible for deciding the number of Fast Stream posts they require, and my Department recruits centrally to meet their current and anticipated business needs. The civil service will continue to need the new skills and attributes that high calibre graduates can bring to it, and we are still working to ensure that we recruit entrants to meet the new challenges.

Departmental Vehicles

David Kidney: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many road vehicles are operated by the Cabinet Office; how many personal injury accidents involving road vehicles operated by the Department have occurred within each of the last five years; and what the Department's policy is for managing work-related road safety.

Douglas Alexander: The Government Car and Despatch Agency (GCDA) provide all road vehicles for the Cabinet Office.
	The responsibility for the provision of ministerial cars and drivers has been delegated under the terms of the Framework Document to the Government Car and Despatch Agency. I have asked its Chief Executive Mr. Nick Matheson to write to the hon. Member regarding the GCDA fleet. Copies of his letter will be placed in the Library.

European Legislation

Michael Connarty: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the evidential basis was for the statement in the Cabinet Office Synthesis Report of October 2002, Improving the Way the UK handles European Legislation, page 2, that around 50 per cent. of significant legislation enacted in the UK originates from the European Union.

Douglas Alexander: The evidential base for this statement was an analysis of Regulatory Impact Assessments (RIAs), which showed that about half of all measures that imposed non-negligible costs on business, charities and the voluntary sector originated from the European Union.

Government Annual Reports

David Cameron: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the total cost has been of the publication of Government annual reports, in each year since 1997.

Paul Boateng: holding answer 20 July 2004
	Government annual reports were published for the years 1997–98 to 1999–2000. I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Prime Minister to the hon. Member for Yeovil (Mr. Laws) on 18 July 2001, Official Report, column 206W.

Sir Richard Dearlove

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if the Central Office of Information will issue a photo image of Sir Richard Dearlove upon his retirement from MI6.

Jack Straw: I have been asked to reply. 
	No.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Archaeology

Anne Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans the Government has to (a) extend planning policy guidance to require developers to publish and store archaeological finds and archives and (b) give the public access to archaeological finds and archives through outreach programmes; and if she will make a statement.

Estelle Morris: Planning policy guidance is co-ordinated by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM). The ODPM recently published a list of those planning policy guidance notes it would treat as priority, and this did not include PPG 16 (Planning and Archaeology). The review of PPG 16 will therefore take place as and when is necessary in the light of its policy and strategic significance. In the interim, the current PPG will remain in place.

Children's Sport

Sally Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  what support her Department is providing for children's sporting activities in Northampton;
	(2)  what support her Department has provided in 2003–04 for children's sport in the East Midlands.

Richard Caborn: The Government are investing more than £1 billion to transform physical education (PE), school sport, and club links. The funding will help deliver an ambitious Public Service Agreement target, shared with the Department for Education and Skills, to increase the percentage of 5–16 year olds who spend a minimum of two hours each week on high quality PE and school sport within and beyond the curriculum to 75 per cent. by 2006.
	Spearheading delivery are School Sport Partnerships, which provide for groups of schools to work together to increase sports opportunities for all young people. Each partnership receives formula funding of up to £270,000 per annum. Information regarding School Sport Partnerships going live in the East Midlands and Northampton is as follows:
	
		
			   East Midlands Of which: in Northampton 
		
		
			 April 2003 12 2 
			 September 2003 4 1 
			 September 2004 15 3 
		
	
	All maintained schools in the East Midlands will be in a partnership from September 2006.
	The East Midlands region is receiving nearly £40 million through the Big Lottery Fund's New Opportunities in PE and Sport programme, over £5 million of which is going to Northamptonshire. This funding will help improve sports facilities on school sites.
	Children and young people in the East Midlands are also benefiting from national initiatives such as the Community Club Development Fund (promoting Club Development with an emphasis on participation by young people), Sporting Playgrounds (improving primary school playgrounds in 27 local education authorities including Nottingham), and Positive Activities for Young People (aimed at 8–19 year olds at risk of social exclusion).

Departmental Expenditure

Julie Kirkbride: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much has been spent by her Department on (a) advertising and (b) public relations consultants in (i) 1996–97 and (ii) the latest year for which figures are available.

Estelle Morris: There has been no spend on advertising or public relations consultants in this period.

Departmental Expenditure

Julie Kirkbride: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much her Department spent on press officers, broken down by grade, in (a) 1996–97 and (b) the latest year for which figures are available.

Richard Caborn: Spending by the Department on press officers, broken down by grade, for the latest year available, 2003–04, was as follows:
	
		
			 Grade £ 
		
		
			 A 66,124 
			 A/TP 56,325 
			 B 315,021 
		
	
	Information requested for earlier years could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Expenditure

Julie Kirkbride: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much her Department spent on (a) head-hunters and recruitment consultants and (b) management consultants in 1996–97.

Richard Caborn: The departmental expenditure on management consultants in 1996–97 was £65,747.99. An analysis of expenditure on head-hunters and recruitment consultants is not recorded on the Department's accounting system and can be obtained only at disproportionate costs.

Departmental Staff (Upper Age Limits)

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether (a) her Department and (b) agencies for which it is responsible (i) have a set retirement age which applies to all or most personnel and (ii) have a maximum age beyond which applications for employment will not be considered; and what the age is in each case.

Richard Caborn: In the Department for Culture Media and Sport the minimum retirement age for all staff is 60. The maximum retirement age for permanent staff outside the senior civil service is age 65. Age retirement for the senior civil service is currently age 60 but heads of departments have the flexibility to retain staff beyond age 60 if they judge it to be in the public interest. Applications for employment will be considered up to the maximum retirement age.
	In the Royal Parks, the normal retirement age is 60. The Royal Parks do not stipulate a maximum age in their recruitment material and will consider applicants beyond the normal retirement age on an exceptional basis depending on the needs of the organisation.

Departmental Staffing

Richard Bacon: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many people were employed in the Department (a) in 1997 and (b) at the latest date for which information is available, broken down by job title; if she will list the job functions performed by those holding each job title; and for how many people the primary function was (i) human resource or personnel functions, (ii) finance and accounting functions, (iii) information technology functions and (iv) other support, back office or administrative functions (A) in 1997 and (B) at the latest date for which information is available.

Richard Caborn: holding answer 14 July 2004
	There were 338 full time equivalent staff in 1997 and 482 FTEs in 2004 in this department. A breakdown by job title and functionality is not available.

Departmental Vehicles

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many road vehicles are operated by the Department and its agencies; how many personal injury accidents involving road vehicles operated by the Department have occurred within each of the last five years; and what the Department's policy is for managing work-related road safety.

Estelle Morris: DCMS does not operate any road vehicles. The Royal Parks operates a total of 42 road vehicles in managing and policing the eight Royal Parks: 22 cars are available for use by horticultural and office staff for operational purposes; 15 cars and vans, four motor cycles and one horse box are employed on the policing side.
	No personal injury accidents involving road vehicles operated by the Agency have been reported within the last five years.
	The Royal Parks policy on managing work-related road safety is encompassed within its overall Health and Safety policy, as required by the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. This commits the Agency to safeguarding the health, safety and welfare of its staff, and others affected by its activities; when a risk associated with work related road safety is identified by risk assessment it is dealt with accordingly.

Marine Protection

Richard Younger-Ross: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment she has made of the impact of the creation of marine parks on tourism in England.

Richard Caborn: The Department has made no assessment of the impact specifically of marine parks on tourism in England. There are tremendous opportunities for water-based tourism in England. In 2002, the last year that full figures are available, UK residents took 26 million holiday trips to the seaside and 19 million visits to UK wildlife attractions and zoos. The Deep attraction in Hull received 750,000 visitors in its first year, and the National Marine Aquarium in Plymouth received around 380,000 visitors in 2002. Marine attractions are promoted in VisitBritain's current "Waterside England" campaign, which promotes water-based attractions and activities.

National Lottery

Andy Burnham: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much has been awarded from the National Lottery to (a) rugby union and (b) rugby league in each year since 1994.

Estelle Morris: The table shows details of lottery grants awarded in England to support rugby union and rugby league since lottery funding streams began in 1995. The programmes referred to are Sport England's community and world class programmes and Awards for All, the joint lottery distributors programme.
	
		£
		
			  Rugby union lottery awards Rugby league lottery awards 
			  Community World class Awards for All Community World class Awards for All 
		
		
			 1995–96 4,396,212 0 0 226,201 0 0 
			 1996–97 5,578,878 0 0 701,975 0 0 
			 1997–98 678,228 0 0 185,439 0 0 
			 1998–99 6,145,206 305,387 0 1,159,428 0 0 
			 1999–2000 3,707,869 315,972 253,883 395,528 0 142,690 
			 2000–01 2,360,269 586,029 348,302 1,981,519 731,883 365,111 
			 2001–02 2,566,082 1,080,122 522,587 4,193,472 1,295,464 222,445 
			 2002–03 5,393,585 5,194,636 626,073 683,171 1,500,000 282,319 
			 2003–04 2,191,450 4,167,430 464,351 3,569,038 1,500,000 351,317 
			 Total 33,017,779 11,649,576 2,215,196 13,095,771 5,027,347 1,363,882

Tourism

Malcolm Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport by how much the Government aims to increase participation in accommodation grading schemes by 2006.

Richard Caborn: The improvement of the quality of tourism products is one of the five key priority areas agreed between the DCMS and the tourism industry. These are set out in the Tomorrow's Tourism Today document, which was launched by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State at the Tourism Alliance's Plenary Session on 19 July.
	After detailed consultation, DCMS and its key partner organisations have agreed to aim to significantly increase the rate of participation in grading schemes in England from the present 43 per cent. of accommodation. Work towards this, and in respect of the other programmes outlined in Tomorrow's Tourism Today, will be guided and monitored by the Tourism Review and Implementation Group, which my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State also announced on 19 July. The Group will be informed by the recent Alan Britten report on common accommodation quality standards across Britain, which recommended that at least 75 per cent. of known accommodation stock should be included in the schemes by 2008.

Tourism

Laura Moffatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans she has to encourage people living in towns to visit the countryside.

Richard Caborn: In autumn last year, VisitBritain launched its 'Outdoor England' campaign which encouraged people to visit England's varied countryside. VisitBritain recently launched its 'Waterside England' campaign, which promotes England's coastline as well as its many inland waterways. The countryside will continue to feature strongly in VisitBritain's future campaigns. Further information can be found on the website www.visitengland.com.

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

Children's Commissioner

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether the proposed children's commissioner will have powers which extend to Scotland.

Margaret Hodge: holding answer 20 July 2004
	Under the Government's proposals, the Children's Commissioner will have powers in relation to non-devolved matters in Scotland and across the UK. We do not intend that the proposed Commissioner should have any role in devolved matters in Scotland. However we do intend that the Commissioner should carry out his or her general functions in relation to non-devolved matters across the UK—promoting awareness of the views and interests of children, and looking into and reporting on the matters which affect and concern them—as well as his or her inquiry functions.

Dentistry

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills for what reason the recent funding uplift for England's dental schools does not cover the backdating of extra programmed activity.

Rosie Winterton: I have been asked to reply.
	Funding for the 2003–04 contractual changes for medical and dental clinical academics was agreed jointly between the Department of Health, the Department for Education and Skills and the Universities and Colleges Employers Association. The universities are now allocating the additional funds by reference to job plans prepared by individual consultants.

Recruitment Consultants

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much the Department spent on recruitment consultants in each year since 1996–97.

Charles Clarke: holding answer 15 July 2004
	The Department was established in June 2001. Information is available for the financial years of 2002–2003 and 2003–2004. In 2002–2003 the cost of recruitment consultants used to fill Departmental posts was £584,976. In 2003–2004 the cost was £335,321.

Disabled People (Services)

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what arrangements he has in place for monitoring statistics concerning the supply of services by his Department to disabled people; and if he will make a statement.

Charles Clarke: holding answer 12 July2004
	The Government is committed to improving the position of disabled people in society and believes that public bodies should take the lead in promoting equal opportunities. That is why my Department has in place arrangements for monitoring the position, either directly or through delivery partners.
	As part of the performance management arrangements on children's social services departments, we collect and monitor information on the number of disabled children receiving services which support them either in their families or to live independently. We also monitor statistics collected via the Department of Health, of the number of parents of disabled children and 16–17 year old disabled young people, who receive direct payments from Local Authorities.
	The numbers of pupils with SEN are collected through the Pupil Level Annual Schools Census (PLASC). All maintained and non-maintained schools are asked to record pupils with statements of SEN, pupils at School Action and those at School Action Plus, using 11 categories of need.
	Connexions Partnerships record the number of young people in their area who have been identified as having learning difficulties and disabilities, and their participation in education, employment and training. Statistics are also maintained on the number of young people with learning difficulties and disabilities in their last year of compulsory education who have received an assessment that meets the requirements of S140 of the Learning and Skills Act.
	For Learning and Skills Council (LSC) funded post-16 learning, detailed information is collected by the LSC about each learner, the learning they are undertaking and qualifications success.
	Information on HE students who are disabled is collected annually from all HE institutions in the UK by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA)

Educational Attainment

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what information he collates on levels of attainment at each of the Key Stages and GCSE/GNVQ by socio-economic class.

David Miliband: The following table shows a time series of estimates from the Youth Cohort Study (YCS) of the proportion attaining five or more GCSEs at grades A*-C or equivalent by year 11 by Socio-Economic Group. Similar information is not available at earlier Key Stages from the YCS. Attainment data up to Key Stage 4 for pupils from English maintained schools is, however, available using Free School Meals as a proxy for Socio-Economic Class for 2002 and 2003. For this data see tables 9–12 and 25–28 of DfES Statistical First Release 04/2004 available at http://www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgatewav/DB/SFR/s000448/index.shtml.
	
		Attainment of five or more GCSE grades A*-C in Year 11 by parental occupation: 1988–2001 England and Wales, maintained and independent schools
		
			  1988 1990 1991 1993 1995 1997 1 1999 2001 
		
		
			 Total sample size (number) 14,116 14,511 24,922 18,020 15,899 14,662 13,698 16,707 
			  
			 Socio-economic Group (SEG) 2 (Percentage)
			 Managerial/Profession 52 58 60 66 68 69 69 n/a 
			 Other non-manual 42 49 51 58 58 60 60 n/a 
			 Skilled manual 21 27 29 36 36 40 45 n/a 
			 Semi-skilled manual 16 20 23 26 29 32 36 n/a 
			 Unskilled manual 12 15 16 16 24 20 30 n/a 
			 Other/not classified(46) 15 18 18 20 22 24 26 n/a 
			  
			 National Statistics Socio-Economic Classification (NS-SEC) 2 (Percentage)
			 Higher professional n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 74 80 
			 Lower professional n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 61 65 
			 Intermediate n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 51 52 
			 Lower supervisory n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 36 35 
			 Routine n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 29 32 
			 Other(46) n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 24 32 
		
	
	(44) From 1998, includes equivalent GNVQ qualifications achieved in year 11.
	(45) Up to 1999 the estimates are based on SEG taking that of the father where this can be specifically coded otherwise the mother's SEG is used. Following a National Statistics review SEG was replaced by NS-SEC. Parental NS-SEC shown here takes into account the occupation and status of both parents.
	For further information see SFR 02/2001 available at http://www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000230/index.shtml and SFR 04/2003 available at http://www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000382/index.shtml
	(46) Iincludes a high percentage of respondents who had neither parent in a full-time job.
	Source:
	Youth Cohort Study cohorts 4–11, sweep 1.

Emmanuel Foundation

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much state support has been awarded to the Emmanuel Foundation; and what projects of the Foundation (a) have received financial backing from the Department and (b) the Government are committed to funding.

David Miliband: No funds are paid to the Emmanuel Schools Foundation direct in the case of the Academies programme. Capital and recurrent funding is paid to the governing body of each school. Capital funding of £21,604,359 has been awarded to King's Academy, £23,645,530 to Trinity Academy and £8,512,945 to Emmanuel College, giving a total of £53,762,834. In addition we pay recurrent funding to each school which is comparable to funding for other maintained schools. For 2004–05 the amount of recurrent funding for Emmanuel College is £5,472,000 and for King's Academy is £5,032,367. Apart from, as yet, undetermined recurrent costs for Trinity Academy, when it opens in 2005, we have no other funding commitments at this time.

Entrepreneurship Courses

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what further and higher education courses are available which assist young people who plan to start their own businesses.

David Miliband: There are a considerable number and variety of courses available to students in both higher and further education which aid those with aspirations to start their own business. In fact there are 5,210 courses nationwide currently advertised by the University and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) which relate to Business.
	Government are very committed to ensuring that all students and graduates who aspire to self employment receive the support and advice they need. To demonstrate this we have several new initiatives; for example:
	DfES and Higher Education Academy undertaking work this year to embed entrepreneurship skills into the curriculum
	Science Enterprise Centres (SECs)
	National Council for Graduate Entrepreneurs
	Enterprise Insight

GCSEs

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many and what percentage of students gained (a) five or more and (b) no GCSEs at A* to C in (i) grammar schools, (ii) foundation schools, (iii) voluntary aided schools, (iv) voluntary controlled schools, (v) community schools, (vi) special schools and (vii) pupil referral units in (A) 2002 and (B) 2003.

David Miliband: holding answer 20 July 2004
	The information requested is as follows:
	
		
			   Number of 15 year old pupils achieving 5+A*-C Percentage of 15 year old pupils achieving 5+ A*-C Number of 15 year old pupils achieving no GCSEs at A*-C Percentage of 15 year old pupils achieving no GCSEs at A*-C 
		
		
			 2001–02  
			  Grammar 20,711 97.5 92 0.4 
			  Foundation 51,745 58.1 16,945 19.0 
			  Voluntary Aided 45,953 58.3 14,601 18.5 
			  Voluntary Controlled 11,209 57.6 3,910 20.1 
			  Community 165,211 45.9 99,734 27.7 
			  Special 36 4.0 8,851 93.3 
			  Pupil referral units 43 1.5 2,485 84.0 
			 2002–03  
			  Grammar 21,170 97.5 75 0.3 
			  Foundation 54,678 59.0 17,413 18.8 
			  Voluntary Aided 48,665 60.7 14,145 17.6 
			  Voluntary Controlled 12,101 59.7 4,070 20.1 
			  Community 174,959 47.6 98,831 26.9 
			  Special 31 0.3 9,195 93.8 
			  Pupil referral units 17 0.4 3,682 92.1

GCSEs

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many and what percentage of students gained five or more GCSEs A* to C, including both mathematics and English, in (a) grammar schools, (b) foundation schools, (c) voluntary aided schools, (d) voluntary controlled schools, (e) community schools, (f) special schools and (g) pupil referral units in (i) 2002 and (ii) 2003.

David Miliband: holding answer 20 July 2004
	The information requested is as follows:
	
		
			  Number of 15-year-old pupils achieving 5+ A*–C including English and maths Percentage of 15 year old pupils achieving 5+ A*–C including English and maths 
		
		
			 2001/02   
			 Grammar 20,460 96.3 
			 Foundation 42,613 47.8 
			 Voluntary Aided 37,988 48.2 
			 Voluntary Controlled 9,552 49.1 
			 Community 128,745 35.8 
			 Special 25 0.3 
			 Pupil referral units 35 1.2 
			
			 2002/03   
			 Grammar 20,851 96.1 
			 Foundation 44,016 47.5 
			 Voluntary Aided 38,748 48.3 
			 Voluntary Controlled 9,958 49.2 
			 Community 131,554 35.8 
			 Special 17 0.2 
			 Pupil referral units 17 0.4

Literacy and Numeracy

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what research his Department has commissioned on the numbers of children leaving primary school who have inadequate literacy and numeracy skills.

David Miliband: The annual data received from the Key Stage 2 results enables the Department to identify the proportion of children who have not reached the expected level for their age. In 2003, 75 per cent. of 11-year-olds achieved a Level 4 in English and 73 per cent. achieved a Level 4 in mathematics. The national pupil database enables a detailed understanding of the progress of these pupils to Key Stage 3 and beyond.
	The Primary Strategy supports the drive to raise standards in literacy and numeracy by providing specific programmes to improve the quality of teaching and learning in primary schools so that every child can make the maximum possible progress. Through this we now have the best ever literacy and numeracy results at ages 7 and 11. Our long term aim, set out in the five year Strategy for Children and Learners published on 8 July 2004, is to maintain world class standards and to achieve both excellence and equity for all primary age children by raising standards for those from our most disadvantaged groups.

Selection by Aptitude

Julie Kirkbride: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children in (a) Bromsgrove, (b) Wyre Forest, (c) Redditch, (d) Worcester and (e) Worcestershire failed to get into the school of their first choice in each year since 1997; and how many of those subsequently appealed in each of those years.

David Miliband: Information on the number of pupils admitted to their first choice school is not collected centrally.
	Admission appeal data are not available at parliamentary constituency level. A table giving admission appeal information for all local education authority areas has been placed in the House of Commons Libraries. (I refer the hon. Member to the answer I have given to my hon. Friend the Member for Bury, North (Mr. Chaytor), on 23 June 2004, Official Report, column 1430W). Final figures from 1997/98 to 2001/02 have been provided. Further details on the latest 2002/03 (provisional) figures on admission appeals by local education authority can be found on http://www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000470/index.shtml.

School Admissions

David Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will list, for each of the last five years, the total (a) number and (b) percentage of non-specialist schools that have declared themselves to have a specialism in which the option to select 10 per cent. of pupils by aptitude has been exercised.

David Miliband: The Department does not collect this data. Schools do not identify themselves as schools selecting by aptitude in their annual returns to the Department. The admission authority for any school which can identify itself as having a specialism may introduce 10 per cent. selection by aptitude as part of its published admission arrangements. Such arrangements are subject to local consultation, and any objections may be referred to the Schools Adjudicator.
	Schools are not required to identify themselves as having selection by aptitude as part of their annual returns to the Department, and so we do not have an exact figure for the number of schools taking advantage of this provision. However, based on research carried out in 2001 by Anne West of the LSE, we estimate that just under 6 per cent. of schools in the specialist schools programme select any pupils on the basis of aptitude for the specialism, and that overall around 2 per cent. of all secondary schools do.

School Admissions

David Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment he has made of the change in costs to local education authorities and individual admission authorities arising from the administration of 11-plus tests as a result of the implementation of the workforce agreement.

David Miliband: I refer to the Written Statement I laid before the House on Tuesday 13 July on school funding for 2005–06 (column 55WS refers). The Written Statement to the House sets out how we have considered, with our partner signatories—including the local government employer organisation, the costs of implementation of the National Agreement. It announces what funds will be available to schools to implement the Agreement in 2005–06.
	We believe that the minimum guarantee set out will cover the cost pressures associated with workforce reform and implementation of the contractual changes. We will of course continue to monitor implementation on the ground. One of the areas that we have promised to return to with our partners in the autumn will be to look at the support involved in the transfer of exam invigilation work from teachers in secondary schools. We will also look at any issues around administration of the 11-plus examination also at that time.

School Design

David Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment he has made of the implications for carbon dioxide emissions of the Building Schools for the Future exemplar designs; what guidance he intends to issue in respect of the use of best practice in energy efficiency; and if he will make a statement.

David Miliband: All new schools including those built under the Building Schools for the Future initiative must comply with Part L2 "Conservation of Fuel and Power" of the Building Regulations as revised in 2002. Approved Document L2 in support of the Building Regulations quotes Building Bulletin 87 (BB87) "Guidelines for Environmental Design In schools" as the relevant compliance document for schools. The current May 2003 edition is available for download from the DfES website www.teachernet.gov.uk/energy. The maximum annual energy consumption target allowed under BB87 is 5 kg of carbon per square metre of floor area for all new school buildings. BB87 also gives guidance on energy efficient design of new buildings. For best practice guidance on energy efficiency for both new and existing schools see the DfES energy portal www.teachernet.gov.uk/sdenergy.

Secondary Schools (Pupil Numbers)

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will estimate the future numbers of pupils of secondary school age in (a) 2004, (b) 2005, (c) 2006 and (d) 2007 in (i) Newcastle, (ii) North Tyneside and (iii) Northumberland; and what the figures were for 2003.

David Miliband: The number of pupils of secondary school age in 2003, including pupils over compulsory school age, and provisional estimates for 2004 are as follows:
	
		
			 At January 2003 1 2004 2 
		
		
			 Newcastle 20,317.5 20,143.5 
			 North Tyneside 13,897.5 13,866.5 
			 Northumberland 23,780.5 23,850.0 
		
	
	(47) actual
	(48) provisional
	Note:
	Full-time equivalents, counting each part-time pupil as 0.5
	Projections 1 are only available for England as a whole:
	
		
			 At January Pupils of secondary age in all schools (000) 
		
		
			 2003(50) 3,656 
			 2004(51) 3,662 
			 2005(52) 3,686 
			 2006(52) 3,684 
		
	
	(49) full-time equivalents, counting each part-time pupil as 0.5
	(50) actual
	(51) provisional
	(52) projected

Travel Costs

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the travel costs were of civil servants in (a) his Department, (b) its predecessor Department and (c) its related agencies in each year since 1997.

Charles Clarke: The detailed information requested is not held centrally and can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
	All travel is conducted in accordance with the requirements of the Civil Service Management Code.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Exports to Turkey

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what British goods have been exported to Turkey in each of the last three years.

Mike O'Brien: The value of exports from the UK to Turkey, as published by HM Customs and Excise, were as follows:
	
		UK Exports of goods to Turkey -- £000
		
			 SITC Description 2001 2002 2003 
		
		
			 00 Live animals other than animals of division 03 4,621 3,199 1,451 
			 01 Meat and meat preparations 41 5 38 
			 02 Dairy products and birds' eggs 897 1,863 2,435 
			 03 Fish (not marine mammals), crustaceans, 159 66 167 
			  molluscs and and invertebrates etc
			 04 Cereals and cereal preparations 1,574 774 891 
			 05 Vegetables and fruit 1,005 712 782 
			 06 Sugar, sugar preparations and honey 211 148 202 
			 07 Coffee, tea, cocoa, spices and manufactures thereof 1,622 1,758 2,944 
			 08 Feeding stuff for animals (not including unmilled cereals) 2,423 2,370 3,425 
			 09 Miscellaneous edible products and preparations 3,041 631 1,049 
			 11 Beverages 15,524 18,504 17,766 
			 12 Tobacco and tobacco manufactures 6,745 7,592 6,279 
			 21 Hides, skins and furskins, raw 19,554 43,699 55,495 
			 22 Oil seeds and oleaginous fruit 61 0 34 
			 23 Crude rubber (including synthetic and reclaimed) 7,268 8,368 10,208 
			 24 Cork and Wood 123 44 177 
			 25 Pulp and waste paper 21 44 441 
			 26 Textile fibres (and their wastes) 11,671 10,454 8,815 
			 27 Crude fertilisers other than those of division 56, and crude minerals 7,988 6,197 12,325 
			 28 Metalliferous ores and metal scrap 12,596 45,005 93,906 
			 29 Crude animal, vegetable materials nes 352 228 278 
			 32 Coal, coke and briquettes 8 21 0 
			 33 Petroleum, petroleum products and related materials 18,172 12,558 5,606 
			 34 Gas, natural and manufactured 8,580 8,804 17,748 
			 35 Electric current 0 0 0 
			 41 Animal oils and fats 134 160 168 
			 42 Fixed vegetable oils and fats, crude, refined or fractioned 16 22 109 
			 43 Processed animal and veg oils and fats; waxes 1,244 1,525 1,095 
			 51 Organic chemicals 47,562 50,330 72,402 
			 52 Inorganic chemicals 3,503 3,299 3,609 
			 53 Dying, tanning, and colouring materials 19,309 28,649 30,070 
			 54 Medical and pharmaceutical products 145,017 157,061 163,937 
			 55 Essential oils and resinoids and perfume materials 29,925 30,136 28,119 
			 56 Fertilisers (other than those of group 272) 151 226 408 
			 57 Plastics in primary forms 28,769 41,786 52,503 
			 58 Plastics in non-primary forms 11,401 14,200 13,915 
			 59 Chemical materials and products nes 25,883 23,829 29,676 
			 61 Leather, leather manufactures nes and dressed furskins 1,822 792 1,050 
			 62 Rubber manufactures nes 6,289 6,978 9,278 
			 63 Cork and wood manufactures (excluding furniture) 319 457 1,431 
			 64 Paper, paperboard and articles of paper pulp, of paper or of paperboard 16,770 10,188 8,643 
			 65 Textile yarn, fabrics, made-up articles nes and related products 32,928 44,326 45,582 
			 66 Non-metallic mineral manufactures nes 9,639 11,364 10,890 
			 67 Iron and steel 73,103 29,381 44,763 
			 68 Non-ferrous metals 7,217 6,987 17,733 
			 69 Manufactures of metal nes 25,588 21,443 25,159 
			 71 Power generating machinery and equipment 78,959 69,836 102,324 
			 72 Machinery specialised for particular industries 29,821 50,782 80,641 
			 73 Metalworking machinery 8,405 15,895 15,713 
			 74 General industrial machinery and machine parts nes 50,268 58,895 68,200 
			 75 Office machines and ADP machines 51,582 60,077 53,695 
			 76 Telecommunications and sound recording and reproducing equipment 106,415 48,134 51,237 
			 77 Electrical machinery, apparatus and appliances nes 49,882 78,662 87,759 
			 78 Road vehicles (including air-cushion vehicles) 54,496 146,597 240,612 
			 79 Other transport equipment 17,332 14,681 14,337 
			 81 Prefabricated buildings; plumbing, heating and lighting fixtures and fitting 931 1,520 1,920 
			 82 Furniture and parts thereof 5,818 2,982 2,962 
			 83 Travel goods, handbags and similar containers 474 640 551 
			 84 Articles of apparel and clothing accessories 38,083 30,981 31,652 
			 85 Footwear 1,123 726 1,584 
			 87 Professional, scientific and controlling instruments nes 39,585 41,596 43,224 
			 88 Photographic and optical equipment; watches and clocks 12,914 13,173 15,255 
			 89 Miscellaneous manufactured articles nes 35,472 51,682 45,832 
			 9 Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere in the SITC 9,617 35,904 44,132 
			 Total:  1,202,022 1,378,944 1,704,635 
		
	
	Note:
	nes=not elsewhere specified

Post Office Card Accounts

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans she has to make it easier to open a Post Office Card Account.

Stephen Timms: The design and management of the Post Office card account is an operational matter for the Post Office. I understand from the company that the application process is as simple as possible within the legal and regulatory requirements for the banking industry. I also understand that the account opening process is no more onerous than that for a bank account with a financial institution. We have not seen any real evidence that the process for opening a Post Office card account is difficult. Already, over 2.8 million card accounts have been opened.
	While there has been no problem with the opening of the account, the Government have identified a problem that too many customers were failing to pass on their Post Office card account details to DWP or the Inland Revenue, so making it impossible for those Departments to pay money into the new account. Having identified the problem, solutions are being put in place, including the creation of a pre-populated bank account details form (with the account number, sort code and mandate for the spending Department to credit the account) which will be given to customers at their local post office when they collect their card. By signing the forms there and then customers can start receiving benefits into their card account much quicker.

Post Office Card Accounts

Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 
	(1)  how many applications for Post Office card accounts have been completed and returned, but not yet processed and approved;
	(2)  how many applications for Post Office card accounts have been rejected owing to errors on the application form.

Stephen Timms: The operation and management of the Post Office card account is a matter for Post Office Ltd. and I have therefore asked the Chief Executive to reply direct to the hon. Member.

Biomass Energy Industry

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what specific fuel will be used by the biomass energy industry to produce electricity or heat for domestic consumption.

Stephen Timms: The biomass industry will use a range of fuels for production of energy—including all of those eligible for the Renewables Obligation such as straw, willow, miscanthus and forestry residues.

Biomass Energy Industry

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the expected percentage of renewable energy to be derived from wood biomass is in (a) 2010, (b) 2015 and (c) 2020.

Stephen Timms: The Government have set a target that 10 per cent. of electricity supply in the UK will come from renewables by 2010 and an aspiration to double this by 2020. The Government does not set targets for contributions from individual renewable resources.
	However the Renewables Innovation Review indicated a practical potential for biomass of some six per cent. of electricity supply by 2020 based on a range of assumptions

Biomass Energy Industry

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what her assessment of the (a) resource implications and (b) environmental impacts of the movement of biomass over to fuel large power stations is.

Stephen Timms: Assessments of biomass resource have been published in the course of the Renewables Innovation Review and the Statutory Consultation on Amendments to the Renewables Obligation Order.
	The Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution made an assessment of the carbon dioxide associated with biomass production and transport in their recent report on Biomass as a Renewable Energy Source. Total life cycle emissions from biomass remain low compared to fossil-fuel fired power plant.
	Individual projects will make their own assessments of environmental impact as part of their application for planning consent.

Brazil

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what percentage of imports into the UK were from Brazil in 2003–04.

Mike O'Brien: In 2003 Brazil accounted for 0.62 per cent. of the UK's total imports of goods. In the first five months of 2004, Brazil accounted for 0.63 per cent.

Brazil

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the UK policy is on the Brazilian production of generic AIDS drugs to prevent the spread of AIDS; and what assessment has been made of their use in Africa.

Mike O'Brien: The UK Government are committed to increasing access to medicines—through affordable pricing, sustainable financing, reliable health and supply systems and the rational selection and use of drugs—in the developing world. Our policy paper, "Increasing access to essential medicines in the developing world: UK Government policy and plans", was published on 30 June and copies are available in the Libraries of both Houses.
	Brazil is one of a number of developing countries whose generic drug manufacturing capacity is sufficient to allow manufacture of their own HIV/AIDS drugs. Brazil has close links with a number of countries in Africa. The UK Government have made no specific assessment of the use of Brazilian AIDS drugs in Africa.

Brazil

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the level of trade in the industrial sector between Brazil and the UK.

Mike O'Brien: In 2003, UK exports to Brazil and UK imports from Brazil of manufactured goods (defined as Divisions 5 to 8 of the Standard International Trade Classification) were worth £784 million and £669 million respectively. The two most important sectors by value for UK exports were medicinal and pharmaceutical products and power generating machinery and equipment. For Brazilian exports to the UK, the two most important sectors were power generating equipment and machinery and cork and wood manufactures (excluding furniture).

Business Failures

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many business failures there have been in each year since 1997.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The following table shows the number of company and individual insolvencies in each year from 1997 to 2003. While company insolvencies are all known to be business failures, individual insolvencies also include consumer insolvencies. For bankruptcies, a breakdown into "self-employed" (small businesses) and "other individuals" is available, although a similar breakdown is not available for individual voluntary arrangements (IVA's). For this reason it is not possible to separate all business failures from the total individual insolvencies.
	
		
			  1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 
		
		
			 Company Insolvencies 12,610 13,203 14,280 14,317 14,972 16,305 14,184 
			 Individual Insolvencies 24,441 24,549 28,806 29,528 29,775 30,587 36,328 
			 Bankruptcies—Total 19,892 19,647 21,611 21,550 23,477 24,292 28,021 
			 Of which:
			 Self-employed 11,269 10,420 10,723 9,952 9,839 8,854 9,139 
			 
			 Individual Voluntary Arrangements 4,549 4,902 7,195 7,978 6,298 6,295 8,307 
			 
			 Total known business Insolvencies 23,579 23,623 25,003 24,269 24,811 25,159 23,323

Business Regulation

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether her Department has made an assessment of the cost to small businesses of changes to employment legislation introduced since 1997.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The DTI estimates the potential impact on small businesses of changes to employment legislation in its Regulatory Impact Assessments. Summing these estimated costs to all businesses of employment legislation introduced since 1997, produces a figure of £5.1 to £5.6 billion a year of policy costs (such as the cost to employers of paying the national minimum wage), but just £32 to £39 million per year of on-going 'implementation' costs (the administrative or 'red-tape' costs). Small firms might account for £1.5 to £1.6 billion of the policy costs and £9 to £11 million of implementation costs. At the same time, it should be remembered that there are very significant benefits to small firms associated with these changes to employment legislation.
	The DTI has also commissioned research into what the effects on small firms of changes to employment legislation have been. The impact of employment legislation on small firms: a case study analysis, by Paul Edwards, Monder Ram and John Black, 2003 for the DTI, found that "the impact on firms appears generally to remain relatively small."

Car Batteries

Patrick McLoughlin: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many and what percentage of end-of-life car batteries were recycled in each of the last two years.

Stephen Timms: No precise data for the recycling of end of life automotive batteries are currently collected. However, discussions with the battery manufacturing and distributing sector, and the lead recycling industry, suggest that in 2002 the UK recycled 94 per cent. of spent automotive batteries and that this figure rose to 99 per cent. in 2003. In each year, an estimated 7.5 million automotive batteries entered the waste stream.

Chronic Diseases (Compensation Claims)

George Foulkes: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many compensation claims received for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and vibration white finger damages are waiting to be processed; and what the average time taken to process a claim is.

Nigel Griffiths: There are around 428,000 respiratory disease claims waiting to be settled. 380,000 were submitted in the last six months alone. The time taken to process a claim is dependent on the time it takes the claimants' representatives and the Department's contractors to provide all the required information for the full Medical Assessment Process (MAP) to take place. The average is two years for a live claim and one year for a deceased claim from registration to MAP.
	There are some 79,000 Vibration White Finger (VWF) claims waiting to be settled. The average time taken from registration of claim to settlement is around 2.5 years and is dependant on the factors mentioned above.

Chronic Diseases (Compensation Claims)

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many chest disease coal-related compensation claims remain outstanding; how many have been settled in the last 12 months; and when the Government expects to settle all chest disease coal-related compensation claims.

Nigel Griffiths: There are over 428,000 claims still to settle. 280,000 came in during the last six months before the cut off date. In the last 12 months some 54,000 claims have been settled.
	With regard to the timetable for settling outstanding claims, I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given by my noble Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Trade and Industry in the House of Lords on 21 April 2004, Official Report, column WA49.

Company Insolvencies

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 
	(1)  what estimate her Department has made of the number of company insolvencies in 2003;
	(2)  what estimates her Department has made of the number of company insolvencies in 2003.

Gerry Sutcliffe: There were 14,184 company insolvencies in 2003. These comprised of 5,234 creditors voluntary liquidations and 8,950 company compulsory liquidations.

Defence Equipment (Exports)

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when she expects to extend the UK regulations on the licensing of exports of defence equipment to the UK dependent territories; and if she will estimate the value of those exports in the last year for which figures are available.

Bill Rammell: I have been asked to reply.
	The Government are working with the Overseas Territories to implement the Export Control Act by the end of the year. In the absence of centrally kept records, an estimate of the exports of defence equipment from the Overseas Territories would be meaningless, and liable to be misconstrued as an official figure. However, the Government believe the level of such exports to be very small, since the Overseas Territories neither manufacture defence equipment on a large scale, nor have large stocks of such equipment.

DIY Accidents

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate her Department has made of the prevalence of accidents relating to DIY; and what measures her Department is taking to reduce the number of such accidents.

Gerry Sutcliffe: DTI no longer provides a service on accident statistics.
	During 2002, the final year for which statistics were collected, the UK national estimate for the number of home accident victims where the patient's activity at the time was DIY/maintenance was 218,510 (24th HASS report, page 124); and a further 15,785 whilst at leisure outside the home and its surrounds (24th HASS report, page 133).
	The 24th HASS report can be ordered or downloaded from www.dti.gov.uk/homesafetynetwork/gh stats.htm.
	More detail can be obtained by contacting the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents: www. rospa.com tel. 0870 777 2171.
	As regards policy, the General Product Safety Regulations require products to be safe in normal or reasonably foreseeable use and that consumers are provided with the relevant information to enable them to assess the risks inherent in a product and where these are not obvious for warnings to be provided.

Employment Benefits

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the effect on part-time workers in (a) the UK and (b) each region of measures agreed at EU level to ensure pro rata rights to (i) paid leave, (ii) pensions, (iii) access to training and (iv) other company benefits.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Second Work-Life Balance Study—Employees' Survey, carried out during January and February 2003, asked employees if their employer provided part-time workers with (a) the same hourly rate of pay as full-time workers; (b) the same entitlements to annual leave and maternity/parental leave on a pro rata basis as full-time workers; and (c) the same entitlement to contractual sick pay as full-time workers. A significant minority answered 'no', as shown in the following table.
	
		Table: Percentages of employees who answer 'no' when asked about provisions for part-time staff, by UK region
		
			 Does your employer provide part-time workers with the following? NE Yorks and Humb E Mids Eastern Gtr London SE 
		
		
			 The same hourly rate of pay as full-time workers 18 9 11 12 15 11 
			 The same entitlements to annual leave and maternity/paternity leave on  a pro rata basis as full-time workers 9 3 4 8 11 7 
			 The same entitlement to contractual sick pay as full-time workers 12 6 8 12 13 8 
		
	
	
		
			 Does your employer provide part-time workers with the following? SW W Mids NW Wales Scotland UK 
		
		
			 The same hourly rate of pay as full-time workers 9 13 12 14 15 12 
			 The same entitlements to annual leave and maternity/paternity leave on  a pro rata basis as full-time workers 6 10 10 17 9 8 
			 The same entitlement to contractual sick pay as full-time workers 10 11 14 18 12 11 
		
	
	Note:
	Base=1823. Other response categories not reported here were 'yes' and 'don't know'.
	According to the Second Work-Life Balance Study—Employers' Survey, carried out between December 2002 and April 2003, less than 1 per cent. of part-time employees were ineligible for maternity/paternity, parental or special paid leave entitlements available to full-time employees. Employers reported that none of their part-time staff were ineligible for employer-provided childcare facilities or help where they were available. Employers reported that between 0.1 and 1.9 per cent. of their part-time staff were ineligible for various flexible working practices, depending on which particular practice was being considered. Because the number of corresponding cases is very small, it is not possible to provide a regional breakdown. It is recognised that it is likely that employers will under report any ineligibility for part time staff.
	The DTI has not collected any statistics on pensions, access to training or other company benefits (other than access to flexible working practices and child care).

Employment Tribunals

Mark Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry in what proportion of employment tribunal judgments in the last five years the debt owed by the employer was not wholly recovered.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Employment Tribunals Service does not hold information on the number of employment tribunal judgments where the debt owed by the employer was not wholly recovered.

Environmental Business Growth Action Programme

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what funding (a) is budgeted to be spent, (b) has been spent and (c) is forecast to be spent by regional development agencies in 2004–05 on the Environmental Business Growth Action Programme in (i) England and (ii) the west Midlands.

Jacqui Smith: The Environmental Business Growth Action Plan operates in the west Midlands only. The expenditure by Advantage West Midlands on this plan is as follows:
	
		
			  £ 
		
		
			 Expenditure already made in 2004–05 22,000 
			 Expenditure budgeted for the balance of 2004–05 424,798 
			 Expenditure forecast for the balance of 2004–05 (53)915,994 
		
	
	(53) This figure is subject to approval of a project currently being considered by AWM.
	The Plan is also in receipt of funding from European and other UK sources, both public and private sector.

Environmental Business Growth Action Programme

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the role of regional development agencies is in the management of the Environmental Business Growth Action Programme, with particular reference to Advantage West Midlands.

Jacqui Smith: The Environmental Business Growth Action Plan is a west Midlands' region only initiative led by the Environmental Agency. The initiative is supported by funding from Advantage West Midlands which also participates in the Management Board of the Action Plan together with other regional partner organisations.

Exports/Imports

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list the export and import figures to and from (a) European Union states and (b) non-European Union states for the last year for which figures are available.

Mike O'Brien: According to figures published by the Office for National Statistics the information is as follows:
	
		UK trade in goods and services with European Union (EU15) and Non-European countries—2003 -- £ million
		
			  European Union Non-European Union 
		
		
			 UK exports 139,739 137,800 
			 UK imports 168,544 141,668 
		
	
	Source:
	National Statistics, Balance of Payments, First Release

Furniture Regulations

Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many (a) actual and (b) withdrawn prosecutions there have been of businesses failing the furniture regulations since 1993.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988 are enforced by local trading standards departments. This Department collates statistics on prosecutions under the regulations every five years and publishes them in a statutory report on consumer safety. For the period 1 April 1993 to 31 March 1998 the report records 404 prosecutions of which 398 resulted in convictions. Between 1 April 1998 and 31 March 2003, there were 101 prosecutions resulting in 98 convictions. These statistics are obtained from enforcement authorities under Section 70 of the Weights and Measures Act 1985. Data for the period from 1 April 2003 is not yet available.

Mercosur

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the Government's policy is on the expansion of Mercosur.

Mike O'Brien: Mercosur, the Common Market of the South, was created by Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay in March 1991. In 1996 association agreements were signed with Bolivia and Chile establishing free trade areas with these countries; Mexico and Venezuela have recently expressed interest in joining the group. Expansion of Mercosur would be a decision for the full members. The UK favours the process of deeper regional integration since we believe this creates greater possibilities for economic growth and poverty reduction.

Minimum Wage

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will require all employers to print the national minimum wage at any given point in time on all wage slips; and if she will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: We have no plans to require all employers to print the national minimum wage on wage slips.
	However, every output worker, including homeworkers, paid under the piece rate system introduced by the National Minimum Wage Regulations 1999 (Amendment) Regulations 2004 from October 2004 must be given a written notice making it clear what the fair piece rate is, how it was set by the employer, and give the national minimum wage helpline number, which the worker may contact if they have a query or wish to make a complaint.

Civil Nuclear Security

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the reasons were for the revocation of security clearance by the Office for Civil Nuclear Security of an individual in the past two years; and what consultations have taken place with the Cabinet Office over the decision of the Security Vetting Appeals Panel.

Stephen Timms: I am not able to comment on individual cases.

Post Offices

Jackie Lawrence: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many main post offices in county towns have been franchised by the Post Office (a) before and (b) since 1997.

Stephen Timms: These are operational matters for Post Office Ltd. and I have therefore asked the Chief Executive to reply direct to the hon. Member.

Post Offices

Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many post offices have closed in Dumfries and Galloway region since 1997.

Stephen Timms: I am advised by Post Office Ltd. that data on post office closures by constituency is not available in the form requested, as the company does not require this data for operational purposes. However it has produced quarterly statistics on post office closures by Government region/country since March 2000 and the net closure figures for Scotland are:
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 Year to end March 2001 63 
			 Year to end March 2002 26 
			 Year to end March 2003 20 
			 Year to end March 2004 77

Regional Development Agencies

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry to what public service agreements and targets set by central Government regional development agencies are subject.

Jacqui Smith: The Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) have been set a framework of challenging targets which they must demonstrate their contribution to. Under the three-tier target framework, tier 1 targets restate their statutory purposes. Tier 2 are regional outcomes of interest to the funding Departments. Tier 3 are targets for direct outputs, achieved through RDA programme spend. These are listed as follows.
	Tier 3 outputs:
	(i) Employment Opportunities;
	Support the creation or safeguarding of x net jobs;
	(ii) Brownfield Land:
	Reclaim or remediate x hectares of previously developed land and buildings;
	(iii) Education and Skills:
	Support the creation of learning opportunities for x individuals;
	(iv) Business Performance:
	Support the creation and/or attraction of x new businesses;
	(v) Investment benefiting deprived areas:
	Leverage through RDA funding and activity x pounds private sector investment benefiting residents of the most deprived wards
	Each RDA has the same core targets, though the numbers differ region by region, and activities aimed at meeting them and addressing regional needs are described in the Regional Economic Strategy developed with regional stakeholders.
	As set out in the Devolved Decision Making Review (March 2004), the DTI, working in partnership with other Government Departments, is coordinating the implementation of a new approach to tasking the RDAs in time to come into effect from April 2005.
	The new framework will help the RDAs and Departments to work on regional priorities in a way that also serves national interests more effectively. It will provide clearer direction by simplifying targets and making them more relevant to what the Agencies are trying to do.

Regulatory Impact Assessments

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the distinction is between regulatory impact assessments where (a) the benefits justify the costs and (b) the benefits outweigh the costs.

Douglas Alexander: I have been asked to reply.
	The Cabinet Office guidance "Better Policy Making: A Guide to Regulatory Impact Assessment" requires the responsible Minister to certify that he or she is satisfied that the benefits of the proposed measure justify its costs. The Minister will consider the full range of benefits arising from the measure, including social, environmental and economic.

Renewable Energy

Alan Meale: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list the capital grants demonstration projects for renewable energy technologies that are not yet economic with support from the renewable obligation alone.

Stephen Timms: The Department has supported with capital grants the following number of demonstrations of renewable energy technologies not yet economic with support from the Renewables Obligation alone. This includes funding for Capital Grants which has been allocated from the Big Lottery Fund.
	The total number of projects in each sector that the Department is aware of is:
	Photovoltaic—653, under the major demonstration programme.
	Biomass—21, under the Bioenergy Capital Grants Scheme
	Offshore wind—12, under the Offshore Wind Capital Grants Scheme.

Renewable Energy

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what guidelines she has issued on the percentage of energy which should come from renewable sources in relation to the proposed development at Clyst Vale in Devon.

Stephen Timms: Our overall target is that by 2010, 10 per cent. of the UK's electricity should come from renewable sources. ODPM are currently reviewing their national guidelines which help set out planning guidance for local authorities on renewable energy development. Responses to their consultation and the new planning guidance, PPS 22, are being analysed and final publication of PPS 22 is due in the summer.
	At a regional level the Southwest Government Office have planning guidance in the shape of RPG 10—produced in 2001 and informed by PPS 22's predecessor. This sets an indicative target of 11–15 per cent. of electricity from renewables by 2010—just under 600MW of capacity. The regional office then worked with individual counties to agree indicative targets at the county level and incorporate them into individual renewable energy strategies; for example, Devon has a 151 MW indicative target. These were based upon detailed resource and character assessments of the landscape but the indicative targets are not split by technology. RPG 10 is due to be updated by the Regional Spatial Strategy in 2005—which will be informed by PPS 22. No guidelines have been issued in respect of renewable energy provision for any individual development.

Renewable Obligations Certificate

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry to what extent the renewable obligations certificate can be traded with wind power generating companies registered in the UK but whose beneficial ownership lies in offshore tax havens.

Stephen Timms: Renewables obligation certificates or ROCs are issued in relation to eligible renewables output from generating stations in the United Kingdom. ROCs can be traded within Great Britain and in future this will be extended to include Northern Ireland. The renewables obligation is placed upon licensed electricity suppliers supplying customers in Great Britain, irrespective of where those suppliers may be based, and ROCs can be expected to be of value to such companies, to those selling renewables electricity to them and to traders in ROCs.

Renewables Obligations Order

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when she expects the Renewables Obligation Order review's findings will be published; what the parameters of the review are; and from whom it will take evidence.

Stephen Timms: We plan to publish our proposals on the scope and terms of reference of the review later this summer. We aim to complete the review itself by the end of 2005—this will include a statutory consultation on any proposed changes to the Obligation.
	The Utilities Act requires us to consult a wide range of statutory consultees before any changes are made to the Order. Such consultees include the Gas and Electricity Markets Authority. The Gas and Electricity Consumer Council, electricity suppliers to whom the Order would apply and generators of electricity from renewable sources. Gauging the opinion of this range of consultees will enable us to seek views from a wide base.

Small Businesses

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what support has been offered to small businesses in (a) the Jarrow constituency, (b) south Tyneside, (c) Tyne and Wear and (d) England in each year since 1997.

Nigel Griffiths: A number of steps have been introduced to help small businesses including an increase of capital allowances to 50 per cent. and raising VAT registration threshold to 58 per cent., all of which helps small businesses in south Tyneside.
	The Employer Training Pilot, run in Tyne and Wear for the last 15 months, is being made available to businesses throughout the north east. This helps businesses to improve workforce skills by providing training tailored to their needs. The main source of publicly funded business support is Business Link Tyne and Wear (BLTW).
	Core funding of £2.2459 million provided to Business Link Tyne and Wear (BLTW), laid the foundation on which they are planning to source additional funding projected at £14.5 million for the benefit of businesses in Tyne and Wear, for the year 2004–5. Such funding and the creation of partnership working allowed the following to be delivered within Tyne and Wear.
	Around £7.5 million was made available to SMEs based in the sub-region in 2003–04 as part of projects managed by BLTW.
	Businesses benefited from a range of Workforce Development services to help SMEs achieve the Investors in People Standard (liP) and develop their workforce.
	Financial subsidies up to 45 per cent. towards consultancy can be accessed by businesses of any age or size issue. Around £4 million is available for this purpose.
	SMEs benefit from up to 45 per cent. funding towards the cost of exhibition space, and design, build and dressing of stands. BLTW have held three 'Meet the Buyer' events over the last two years as a means for local SMEs to meet buyers from both within and beyond the region, offering them the opportunity to become integral cogs in supply chains. BLTW also recently hosted an 'Access to Finance' event, where SMEs met flinders. This was attended by 30 funders and over 100 SMEs.
	Unsecured loans of up to £15,000 are available to SMEs in the NE that have difficulty accessing finance elsewhere. The SMEs must work with a mentor and repay the loan within five years.
	A Business Link adviser is currently based at TEDCO's premises in Jarrow providing advice and support to south Tyneside businesses. Business adviser will soon be based in south Tyneside metropolitan borough council premises, and in south Tyneside College two days a week.
	In addition a Tyne and Wear Small Business Fund, through ONE NE's Single Programme Funding, of a 50 per cent. Capital Equipment Grant of between £500 and £2,500 available to pre-start and new businesses—up to 12 months old.
	Supplementing the support available from BLTW, south Tyneside metropolitan borough council and south Tyneside Enterprise Agency, TEDCO run a number of their own initiatives to support SMEs in the south Tyneside borough. These initiatives are outlined as follows:
	South Tyneside metropolitan borough council:
	Tyne and Wear Small Business Grant;
	50 per cent. of eligible costs up to £5,000;
	New businesses up to 36 months old;
	Supports projects from a wide range of sectors with a capital spend of at least £2,000.
	Major Business Grant Fund:
	£20,000-£100,000;
	New and established businesses in most sectors;
	Encourages major investments into the borough which support the attraction, creation, retention and rescue of significant jobs and businesses.
	Youth Employment Grant:
	Up to £3,000 on 30 per cent. basis over first year;
	Established businesses in all sectors;
	30 per cent. of the first years basic wage costs in a new, full-time, permanent post, for a person of south Tyneside, under 25 years of age.
	TEDCO: Business Start-up
	Access is available to the Tyne and Wear Business Start-up service, for individuals to access advice and support on all aspects of starting and running a business. The trend for business start-up is an upward one, in 2001, 50 start-ups were recorded for south Tyneside rising to 83 for 2003.
	There is close partnership working with South Tyneside Credit Union, STRIDE and the citizen's advice bureau on anti-poverty and projects focused on wealth creation and retention. Total funding for these activities in Jarrow since 1997 has been in the region of £311,000.
	Business Development.
	Business Development support activities include Outreach counselling, E-commerce, Marketing Support, Business Planning, Cluster Development, Workforce Development, graduate and undergraduate placement programmes and support with grant applications for expansion and growth. Total funding for the counselling and consultancy aspects of this work has been in the region of £230,000.
	Grant Funding:
	Grants for local businesses have been accessed through south Tyneside to promote growth, competitiveness, support expansion and inward investment. There have been two sources of this funding, a Major Grants Fund, and the south Tyneside Development Fund. It is not possible to ascertain an exact split of funds, but in broad terms, since 1997 Jarrow businesses have received £200,000 from the Major Grants Fund and £100,000 per annum from the Development Fund.
	Other Sources of Funding.
	Further financial support has also been available through The Department for Work and Pensions, e.g. InBiz and also through DTI Regional Selective Assistance although it has not been possible to establish how much.

Solar Photovoltaics

Syd Rapson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what her Department's estimate is of the total amount of grid-connect solar photovoltaics which will be installed in the UK in 2004.

Stephen Timms: The Department does not have an estimate of grid-connected PV installed in the UK in 2004.
	The cumulative installed grid-connected PV in the UK was 5.189 MWe at the end of 2003, of this 1.623 MWe was installed in 2003.

Stream 2 Funding

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the total value is of large-scale grant applications for funding received in stream 2 of the Government's solar PV Major Demonstration Programme since its launch; and what the total value is of applications approved.

Stephen Timms: Under Stream 2 of the PV Major Demonstration Programme, 240 grant applications have been received with a total grant value of £32,552,100. Of these, 137 applications have been approved and offered grants with a total value of £16,612, 695.

Technological Innovation

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry for what reason applicants for the Grant for Research and Development have been asked to confirm in writing that they are withdrawing their bids; and what assessment she has of the impact this will have on encouraging small businesses to carry out research and development that leads to technologically innovative products and processes.

Nigel Griffiths: I am advised that applicants for the Grant for Research and Development have not been asked to withdraw their applications. However, if any choose to do so they should inform the office dealing with their application.

UK Trade and Investment

Desmond Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the (a) recruitment and (b) total cumulative salary costs of the Chief Executive of UK Trade and Investment are.

Mike O'Brien: The information is as follows.
	(a) The recruitment costs associated with the last recruitment exercise for the Chief Executive of UK Trade and Investment totalled approximately £74,000. This is in line with the costs associated with other open competitions held for the recruitment of Permanent Secretaries.
	(b) The Chief Executive's current salary falls within the salary range £120,000 to £124,999.

UK/EU Trade

George Foulkes: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will estimate the number of businesses in each region of the UK which trade with the EU; what percentage of (a) small businesses, (b) medium sized businesses and (c) large companies this represents in each region; and what the value of such trade in each region was for each business sector in the last year for which figures are available.

Mike O'Brien: The latest available information on UK trade in goods, by UK regions, was published by HM Customs and Excise on 17 June 2004. The Press Release (NAT 27/04) and accompanying tables of statistics are available from the Customs' website: www.uktradeinfo.com which may be accessed from the Libraries of the House.
	Customs do not collect information on numbers of employees so it is not possible to distinguish between small, medium sized and large businesses.

Wool Industry

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the current (a) state and (b) competitiveness of the British wool industry.

Alun Michael: I have been asked to reply.
	Sales of new season's British wool have begun well, with strong demand and prices firm compared to those achieved at the end of last season's selling in June. But the volatility of the world market and the influence of currency fluctuations and world events may lead to some slowing of the market.
	The Government/Industry Forum on the Non-Food uses of Crops has considered ways to improve the competitiveness of the wool industry and included three recommendations in its second Annual Report. The Government will respond to those recommendations soon. A copy of this report and the recommendations made can be found at: http://148.252.1.12/gifnfc/index.asp.

Working Time Directive

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate she has made of the annual cost to small businesses of the Working Time Directive.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Department of Trade and Industry estimates in its Regulatory Impact Assessments that the total annual cost to business of the Working Time Regulations is £2.7 billion, of which up to £800 million might apply to small firms. There are also benefits to firms through improved health and safety and a more committed workforce, which may have led to productivity gains.
	The Department of Trade and Industry has commissioned research into the impact of the Working Time Regulations. One such report was "Implementation of the Working Time Regulations: follow-up study", Fiona Neathey, July 2003. The report finds that: "In most cases the WTR were not seen as a major business issue. However, the interviews produced some evidence of working time reduction arising from the Regulations and examples were given of operational benefits including more efficient ways of working and the positive impact on worker flexibility and efficiency of reduced working hours. Where a negative impact was cited it was most commonly in relation to increased labour costs, however only one company identified substantial costs which were directly associated with the WTR." (page 9).

Workplace Discrimination

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list current UK legislation on discrimination in the workplace which resulted from (a) agreements reached at an EU level and (b) judgments of the European Court; what estimates she has made of the number of cases brought in each region of the UK under each piece of legislation in each of the last five years; how many cases were successful in each case; and what the total value of awards made in each of the last five years was for each region.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The current UK (excluding Northern Ireland) legislation on discrimination in the workplace which resulted from agreements at an EU level is as follows:
	Disability
	The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (Amendment) Regulations 2003
	The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (Pensions) Regulations 2003
	Sexual orientation
	The Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003
	The Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) (Amendment) Regulations 2003
	Religion or belief
	The Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations 2003
	The Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) (Amendment) Regulations 2003
	The Independent Schools (Employment of Teachers in Schools with a Religious Character) Regulations 2003
	The School Standards and Framework Act 1998
	The Education (Scotland) Act 1980
	Tribunals
	The Employment Tribunals (Interest on Awards in Discrimination Cases) Regulations 1996
	Race
	The Race Relations Act 1976 (Amendment) Regulations 2003
	Gender
	The primary gender legislation which has been affected by European Court legislation is the Equal Pay Act 1970, as amended and the Sex Discrimination Act 1975, as amended. However, a full legislative list has been provided in the following table.
	Number of cases
	The Employment Tribunals Service is not able to provide a regional breakdown of the number of cases brought before the tribunal and of those that were successful. Given the short length of time that the Employment Equality Regulations have been in force, the number of cases reaching an Employment Tribunal is currently very small.
	Disability
	The Disability regulations come into force on 1 October 2004 and as yet there are no cases to report. The following table shows the number of cases that were brought before the tribunal on the grounds of disability in the last five years.
	Sexual orientation
	Only one case so far has been decided upon in the Employment Tribunal under the Employment Equality Sexual Orientation Regulations. The discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation was not upheld by the tribunal.
	In the period December 2003 to June 2004 there have been 83 Employment Tribunal applications registered by the Employment Tribunals Service relating to sexual orientation.
	Religion or belief
	To date, no cases have been decided upon in the Employment Tribunal under the Employment Equality Religion or Belief Regulations.
	In the period December 2003 to June 2004 there have been 44 applications registered by the Employment Tribunals Service relating to religion or belief.
	Race
	The Race Regulations have now been in force for a year and there are no cases to report that have come before the Employment Tribunal. The table shows the number of cases that were brought before the tribunal on the grounds of racial discrimination in the last five years.
	Sex
	The Sex Discrimination Act 1975 has been amended by European Court legislation. The table shows the number of cases that were brought before the tribunal on the grounds of sex discrimination in the last five years.
	Equal pay
	The Equal Pay Act 1970 has been amended by European Court legislation. The table below shows the number of cases that were brought before the tribunal on the grounds of discrimination arising from equal pay issues in the last five years.
	The Employment Tribunals Service is unable to provide information on the total value of awards made in the last five years on a regional basis.
	
		
			  Applications registered Number of cases disposed of at hearing Number successful at hearing 
		
		
			 Equal pay—main jurisdiction cases 
			 1999–2000 2,391 110 9 
			 2000–01 6,586 55 11 
			 2001–02 5,314 185 149 
			 2002–03 3,077 92 47 
			 2003–04 3,217 77 51 
			 Disability—main jurisdiction cases 
			 1999–2000 1,743 292 67 
			 2000–01 2,100 457 105 
			 2001–02 2,624 345 77 
			 2002–03 2,716 408 90 
			 2003–04 2,764 396 99 
			 Sex—main jurisdiction cases 
			 1999–2000 4,926 866 233 
			 2000–01 17,200 967 322 
			 2001–02 10,092 838 239 
			 2002–03 8,128 904 289 
			 2003–04 14,284 711 265 
			 Race—main jurisdiction cases 
			 1999–2000 3,246 632 170 
			 2000–01 3,429 975 204 
			 2001–02 3,183 722 112 
			 2002–03 3,039 655 104 
			 2003–04 2,830 687 115 
		
	
	Source:
	Employment Tribunals Service

DEFENCE

Accommodation

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much has been spent upgrading and building accommodation for the junior ranks of the (a) Army, (b) Royal Navy and (c) Royal Air Force, in each of the last three years; how much is provided in the forward programme; and if he will make a statement.

Ivor Caplin: The Ministry of Defence has embarked on a programme to upgrade the Services' single living accommodation. However, because the costings include whole blocks, or others areas such as non-commissioned officer accommodation or ancillary areas, it is not possible to separate out expenditure for Junior Ranks, although much of the programme involves the upgrade of this type of accommodation.
	The following table shows past and planned expenditure on single living accommodation. This is the best information which can be provided without disproportionate cost and effort. It should be noted that the forecast spend in years 2004–05 and 2005–06, may be subject to change as in-year planning issues arise, and the figures represent an indicative allocation of funds.
	
		£ million
		
			  2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 
		
		
			 RN 4 2 22 21 31 
			 Army 41 51 19 67 64 
			 Single Living Accommodation Modernisation (SLAM) 14 19 4 27 13 
			 Other 7 13 72 86 92 
			 Totals 66 85 162 316 277 
		
	
	The entry on 'OTHER' expenditure relates to projects delivered by the Defence Estates agency, on tri-Service projects including within the Defence Logistics Organisation, Permanent Joint Headquarters, and in Northern Ireland.
	Expenditure on SLAM (the project to modernise single living accommodation for the Services) assumes some 17 per cent. to RN, 54 per cent. to Army and 26 per cent. to RAF (3 per cent. other) but these figures are indicative as the work is likely to be tackled on a 'worst first' rather than Service basis.

Cadet Forces

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what provisions have been made for cadet recruitment and training by his Department.

Ivor Caplin: holding answer 15 July 2004
	The provision made for recruitment and training for the Cadet Forces can be shown by the latest budget/expenditure for all of the Cadet Forces (including CCF), which were as follows:
	
		Recruitment and Training for Cadet Forces—2003–04
		
			  £ million 
		
		
			 £million 
			 Cadets affiliated to the Royal Air Force 21 
			 Cadets affiliated to the Royal Navy and Royal Marines 10 
			 Cadets affiliated to the Army 60 
		
	
	The Army is responsible for providing many items for use by all Cadet Forces, such as Medical Modules for use on adventure training and Cadet camps.

Civilian Deaths (Amargh)

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what information he has examined in relation to civilian deaths allegedly caused by British forces in the city of Amargh between 8 and 10 May.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 15 June 2004
	Ministers were briefed on operations that occurred in al-Amarah on 8–9 May 2004, and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence referred to them in his statement on 10 May 2004, Official Report, column 21.

Combat/Operational Clothing

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what criteria were used in awarding the contract for combat and operational clothing DC4BESL/1002.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 15 July 2004
	Under European Union Public Procurement Regulations we may only consider factors directly relevant to the nature of the items or services to be supplied in order to apply the principles of Most Economically Advantageous Tender.
	The published award criteria were Technical Compliance, Cost of Acquisition, Soft Issues (to determine partnering capability), and Delivery. This is in accordance with the Public Procurement Regulations.

Combat/Operational Clothing

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what experience of supplying battledresses the winner of the contract for combat and operational clothing DC4BESL/1002 has.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 15 July 2004
	The selected contractor has not previously supplied Combat Soldier (CS) 95, the main combat ensemble worn by the United Kingdom Armed Forces, however, they have supplied RN Improved Action Working Dress, Anti-Flash Clothing and elements of the Armoured Fighting Vehicle ensemble over a number of years, some of which are more complex and technically difficult to manufacture than CS 95 items. This contract was let to a prime contractor who is required to supply a range of nearly 200 products, including combat clothing, barrack/workwear and sportswear and the specific combat clothing element comprises only 20 different products.

Combat/Operational Clothing

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many officials from his Department visited China before awarding the contract for combat and operational clothing DC4BESL/1002.

Adam Ingram: No officials have visited China in respect of this contract. It is not normal MOD practice to visit sub-contractors in advance of an award unless a significant risk has been identified during the assessment phase and this was not the case with this contract.

Correspondence

Tony Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he intends to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Manchester, Central dated 6 May regarding Mr. QH, reference 02245/2004.

Adam Ingram: I wrote to the hon. Member on 19 July.

Defence Research and Development

Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what (a) defence technology centres, (b) defence and aerospace research partnerships and (c) towers of excellence have been set up; which universities are involved in each case; and what activities have taken place in each case.

Adam Ingram: I am placing the requested information in the Library of the House.

Departmental Accountancy Practice

Richard Bacon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence who the Finance Director of the Department is; what accountancy qualifications the Director holds; and on how many occasions there has been a qualified opinion on (a) the resource accounts and (b) other accounts of the Department in the last five years.

Ivor Caplin: The Ministry of Defence's Finance and Planning Director is Trevor Woolley. Mr. Woolley was appointed following a Whitehall wide competition and took up post on 13 October 2003. He has substantial financial management experience in MOD at senior level across a range of posts within Head Office and in managing the finances of one of our largest budget areas. Although Mr. Woolley does not himself have an accountancy qualification, his staff includes a senior team of experienced accountants and other professional specialists.
	The MOD's first Departmental Resource Accounts were published in 2000 and were disclaimed by the National Audit Office. Significant progress has been made since then and, although the accounts have been qualified in each year, those for 2002–03 received just one qualification.
	Trading Fund organisations and non-departmental public bodies associated with the MOD also publish accounts, but these fall outside the departmental accounting boundary and the organisations' Chief Executives and Finance Directors are separately accountable for them.

Departmental Publications (Storage)

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many departmental publications are in storage; and where they are located.

Ivor Caplin: The Ministry of Defence's main storage depot for publications is in Llangennech in South Wales. This site currently holds copies of over 170,000 different forms and publications. However, many other publications are issued by, and stored at, unit level and information about these is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Iraq

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether at any point children have been detained in the Coalition-run detention centres in Umm Qasr; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 8 July 2004
	During decisive operations to 1 May 2003 and subsequently, UK forces have detained individuals who have been a threat to them and a number believed to be criminals. Some of these people were detained in the facility at Umm Qasr and some were discovered to be under 18 years of age. Those internees and detainees still held by UK forces in the Umm Qasr facility were transferred to the UK Divisional Temporary Detention Facility at Shaibah on or about 15 December 2003.

Iraq

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 15 July 2004, Official Report, column 1235W, on Iraq, whether hooding was a contributory factor in any harm suffered by individuals in the incident mentioned.

Adam Ingram: I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.

Iraq

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 15 July 2004, Official Report, column 1235W, on Iraq, on what basis military commanders concluded that hooding detainees could be harmful.

Adam Ingram: I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.

Iraq

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 15 July 2004, Official Report, column 1235W, on Iraq, whether military commanders concluded following the incident concerned that the potentially harmful effects of hooding could be fatal.

Adam Ingram: I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.

Lloyd Inquiry

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he has given his Department's employees permission to give evidence to the inquiry into Gulf war illness being held under the chairmanship of Lord Lloyd of Berwick.

Ivor Caplin: I wrote to Lord Lloyd of Berwick on 12 July 2004 and explained that it would not be appropriate for Ministers, officials or serving military personnel to attend his investigation. However, in the interests of openness, I intend to provide Lord Lloyd with a pack of all appropriate documents by the end of July.

Major Ian Hill

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his answer of 15 January 2004, Official Report, column 822W, on Major Ian Hill, if he is now in a position to give his assessment of the findings of the Cheshire Coroner regarding the death of Major Ian Hill.

Ivor Caplin: holding answer 19 July 2004
	The Ministry of Defence has completed its assessment of the findings of the Cheshire Coroner in the inquest of Edward lan Hill and has noted the observations, comments and findings.

Nimrod

Michael Jack: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Nimrod MR4A aircraft are required to provide the same operational capability as the current Nimrod fleet.

Adam Ingram: I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.

Nuclear Submarines

Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to use (a) private finance initiative and (b) public private partnership mechanisms to decommission nuclear submarines.

Adam Ingram: There are no plans to use either the Private Finance Initiative (PFI) or Public Private Partnership (PPP) to defuel and decommission nuclear powered submarines when they leave operational service. Since 1990 this work has been contracted out to Devonport Management Limited in Plymouth. As part of this process, the submarine's reactor is defuelled at the earliest practicable opportunity and the fuel—High Level Waste (HLW)—is removed for long term storage at British Nuclear Fuels plc at Sellafield.
	We are undertaking Project ISOLUS, to determine storage arrangements for the Intermediate Level Waste (ILW) from the decommissioned submarines, pending a decision on a national waste management solution, and are currently considering industry outline proposals. PFI, partnering and prime contracting are the procurement options being considered. PFI will only be pursued if it can be demonstrated that it offers the most effective procurement strategy.

Prisons (Iraq)

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how many (a) male and (b) female prison officers are employed in the running of British military and civilian prisons in Iraq; how many have been prison officers employed in prisons in the UK; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how many (a) men and (b) women prison officers employed in British-run military/civilian prisons in Iraq have been removed from their role as prison officers because of concern as to their suitability to be a prison officer; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: There are no British military or civilian prisons in Iraq, and no prison officers are employed. As at 21 July 2004, around 65 personnel are based at the Divisional Temporary Detention Facility (DTDF) at Shaibah. This is the only British detention facility in Iraq. All custody officers are currently male, although one female custody officer was employed previously. None is known to have been removed from duty.

Special Advisers

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many of the reductions in the numbers of civil servants in his Department announced in the comprehensive spending review will be of special advisers.

Ivor Caplin: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by my right hon. Friend the Chief Secretary to the Treasury (Mr. Boateng) on 20 July 2004, Official Report, column 190W.

Staffordshire Regiment

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the future of the Staffordshire Regiment.

Adam Ingram: I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.

CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

Claiming Asylum Leaflet (Welsh Version)

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what assessment he made of the demand for a version of the Community Legal Services leaflet Claiming Asylum to be printed in Welsh, before the leaflet was printed.

David Lammy: Section 5(1)(a) of the Welsh Language Act 1993 provides that English and Welsh languages should be treated on a basis of equality in the conduct of public business and the administration of justice in Wales. In accordance with these obligations, the Legal Services Commission has produced the 'Claiming Asylum' leaflet in Welsh and all the Community Legal Service (CLS) Direct leaflets will be available in Welsh by autumn 2004.

Community Legal Service

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs 
	(1)  which legal suppliers have over-billed for services provided on behalf of the Community Legal Service in each year since 1997; and what the total cost was of over-billing in each year;
	(2)  how many of those legal suppliers that over-billed for services provided on behalf of the Community Legal Service had their contracts terminated in each year since 1997; and on what date each termination took place.

David Lammy: The Legal Services Commission (LSC) monitors whether costs claimed by suppliers are reasonable, either by individual bill submitted (for civil representation) or by auditing a sample of files (for controlled work under an LSC contract). At some stage, virtually all suppliers in receipt of public funding will have had their bills reduced, either by the LSC or by the court through its assessment process.
	The LSC does not record costs in a way which enables them to identify the total cost for over-toiling in each year. Neither does it distinguish between those firms that have stopped doing work because the LSC has actively terminated contracts, and those firms that have withdrawn voluntarily. The LSC may terminate contracts for a range of reasons including over-toiling.
	The LSC carries out cost compliance audits on all firms who are contracted with them to measure whether the suppliers are claiming correctly on their files. This is an objective audit where LSC compares what is claimed by the suppliers against what is actually evidenced in those files. Where a supplier is confirmed as 'category 3'—the lowest rating under the LSC's cost assessment audit— the Commission recovers the amounts claimed from the supplier. In 2003–04, the LSC recovered in excess of £7 million from 711 suppliers as a result of these audits.

Community Legal Service

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what issues will be covered by the recorded message relating to education on the new Community Legal Service Direct advice line.

Christopher Leslie: Issues covered by recorded messages on the Community Legal Service (CLS) Direct advice line relating to education are as follows: parents rights relating to school exclusion, advice for parents unable to obtain a place for their child at their preferred school, rights and responsibilities of a parent whose child is truanting and advice for students facing difficulties with their university.
	The Legal Services Commission plans to introduce further messages as other commonly experienced education-related problems are determined. Further topics are covered in leaflet number 20 of the CLS Direct Leaflet Series, entitled "Education: Parents' and Children's Rights at School." The leaflet is widely available in hard copy and also through the CLS Direct website.

Community Legal Service

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many (a) visitors to the Community Legal Services website and (b) callers to the Community Legal Services direct telephone line were received each day in the last month for which figures are available; and how many (i) website visits and (ii) calls he expects in the next year.

David Lammy: The website of the Community Legal Service (CLS) was known as 'JustAsk!' prior to 14 July 2004, and 'CLS Direct' from this date. Figures for daily visits to the website, in June, are detailed in table 1.
	The Community Legal Service Direct telephone line was launched on 14 July 2004 (although the line had been operational from 2 July 2004). Figures for calls to CLS Direct, in July, are detailed in table 2.
	The increased publicity generated by the launch of CLS Direct is expected to increase significantly visits to the website and phone calls made. No precise estimates of total calls, or website visits, next year can yet be made.
	
		Table 1: Legal Services Commission breakdown of visitors to the 'Just Ask!' website 
		
			  Visits 
			 Date Number Percentage of monthly total 
		
		
			 June 2004   
			 1 0 0 
			 2 0 0 
			 3 2,271 5.14 
			 4 2,404 5.44 
			 5 1,492 3.38 
			 6 1,429 3.24 
			 7 2,907 6.58 
			 8 2,836 6.42 
			 9 3,073 6.96 
			 10 2,839 6.43 
			 11 100 0.23 
			 12 1,346 3.05 
			 13 1,449 3.28 
			 14 66 0.15 
			 15 2 0.00 
			 16 5 0.01 
			 17 9 0.02 
			 18 9 0.02 
			 19 0 0.00 
			 20 0 0.00 
			 21 3 0.01 
			 22 2,613 5.92 
			 23 2,866 6.49 
			 24 2,728 6.18 
			 25 2,501 5.66 
			 26 1,558 3.53 
			 27 926 2.10 
			 28 2,774 6.28 
			 29 3,010 6.82 
			 30 2,940 6.66 
			 Total 44,156 100.00 
		
	
	Note:
	The server was down for periods of time while essential work was being carried out in preparation for the launch of CIS Direct. A substantial number of visitors to the website are likely not to have been captured during this time. Average monthly website visits number around 60,000. Figures for July will be available in August 2004.
	
		Table 2: Calls to Community Legal Service Direct
		
			 Date Number of calls 
		
		
			 July 2004  
			 2 140 
			 3 1 
			 5 218 
			 6 169 
			 7 144 
			 8 117 
			 9 136 
			 10 2 
			 11 1 
			 12 204 
			 13 167 
			 14 158 
			 15 175 
			 16 222 
			 17 6 
			 18 1 
			 19 178 
			 20 212 
			 21 218

Departmental Publicity

Alan Duncan: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how much was spent by his Department on (a) advertising and (b) public relations consultants in (i) 1996–97 and (ii) the last year for which figures are available.

David Lammy: In 2003–04 the Department for Constitutional Affairs did not spend anything on advertising and public relations consultants. Figures for 1996–97 are not available since my Department only came into existence on 12 June 2003.

Departmental Staff (Upper Age Limits)

Andrew Turner: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs whether (a) his Department and (b) agencies for which it is responsible (i) have a set retirement age which applies to all or most personnel and (ii) have a maximum age beyond which applications for employment will not be considered; and what the age is in each case.

David Lammy: In the Department for Constitutional Affairs including its agencies, (i) at present all staff at Span 3 (formerly AO) and below have a normal retirement age of 65. Staff at Spans 4 and 5 (formerly EO) normally retire at age 62. Staff may stay on under the "short service concession" rule, that is if they have not completed 20 years reckonable service. The normal retirement age for all other staff is 60, although even then all staff may stay on beyond 60 if there are sound business reasons. The DCA board has recently agreed that the normal retirement age should be increased to 65 for all staff with effect from 1 April 2005, subject to consultation with the departmental trade unions. (ii) There is no set maximum age beyond which applications for employment will not be considered. Business managers compare the cost and time of training a new entrant against the length of service available.

Ineffective Trials

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how much has been spent on ineffective trials in (a) magistrates courts and (b) Crown courts in each year since 1997; and for what main reasons trials prove to be ineffective.

Christopher Leslie: holding answer 20 July 2004
	It is not possible to provide information in the form requested. The costs of an ineffective trial separately accrue to a number of agencies (the CPS, the police, the court, defence solicitors).
	However, the Crown court over the last year has cut the Ineffective Trial Performance from 23.5 per cent. to 17.3 per cent. and the magistrates court Ineffective Trial Performance has reduced from 29.5 per cent. to 26.9 per cent.
	There are 15 different categories recorded for a case being ineffective in the Crown court and 13 in the magistrates court.
	The most used categories have remained the same since 1997, although the order and number fluctuates. The reasons below were taken from the most recent data set (rolling quarter ending May 2004) and have been listed in numerical order (highest first).
	Crown
	Prosecution witness fails to attend
	Defendant failed to attend—Bench Warrant Issued
	Defendant not ready for trial—Further preparation needed
	Prosecution not ready for trial
	Defendant ill—trial stood out (did not proceed)
	Floater/backer not reached (the trial fails to go ahead on the day, a substitute trial may be available replace it)
	Magistrates
	Prosecution witness absent
	Defendant absent—Did not attend
	Other
	Lack of court/magistrate availability
	Defence not ready
	Prosecution witness absent (police officer)

Judicial Appointments Commission

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the qualifications for serving on the Judicial Appointments Commission will be.

Christopher Leslie: Schedule 12 of the Constitutional Reform Bill provides that the Commission will consist of a lay chairman, five further lay members, five judicial members, two professional members (a barrister and a solicitor), a tribunal member and a lay justice.
	Of the Commissioners appointed as judicial members, one must be a Lord Justice of Appeal; one a High Court judge; one either a Lord Justice of Appeal or a High Court judge; one a circuit judge and one a district judge.
	Of the others: the professional members must be a practising barrister and a practising solicitor; the lay members must never have held a listed judicial office or been a practising lawyer; the tribunal member must be the holder of an office listed in Part 3 of Schedule 14 of the Bill; and the lay justice must be a justice of the peace.
	None of the members may be a member of either the House of Lords or the House of Commons, or a civil servant.

Legal Services Commission

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what money is owed to the Legal Services Commission; and what the reasons are for the Commission not having collected this debt.

David Lammy: The Legal Services Commission (LSC) had debts due to it at the end of the financial year 2003–04 of £262 million. Much of this debt (around 72 per cent.) is secured by the registration of a statutory charge against property and is not, generally, immediately collectable. The LSC allows the funded client to postpone the operation of the charge, subject to certain conditions, and the debt is not repayable until the property is sold or upon the death of the client.
	Cases relating to the statutory charge have since 1988 attached interest. The rate of interest is linked to the Bank of England base rate and currently stands at 5 per cent. simple interest. £50 million of the gross debt due to the Commission relates to interest.
	Other debts due to the LSC are normally immediately repayable and are pursued by a dedicated debt recovery team. In 2003–04, the LSC successfully recovered £28 million worth of debt. Some of these debts may be owed by funded clients (e.g. unpaid contributions towards funding legal aid) and are difficult to recover given the limited financial circumstances of the clients.

November 9th Society

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs if he will raise with the Electoral Commission the plans of the November 9th Society to use the election freepost to distribute its material; and if he will make a statement.

Christopher Leslie: Any candidate at a parliamentary election, and any individual candidate or registered political party at a European parliamentary election has a statutory right to send election material to electors in the constituency or region in which they are standing. Any material must relate solely to that election and must also comply with the general law (for instance, the Malicious Communications Act, the Public Order Acts and Postal Services Act).
	I understand that an organisation calling itself the November 9th Society has applied to the Electoral Commission for registration as a political party and that this is under consideration.

Partnership Initiative Budget

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs if he will list the current projects that receives funding from the Partnership Initiative Budget.

David Lammy: Since its implementation in 2001, there have been two rounds of the Partnership Initiative Budget (PIB), each with a different focus, funding a total of 143 projects. Currently there are 136 projects receiving funding, 66 from round one and 70 from round two. A list of current projects with references to their lead organisation and region has been placed in the libraries of both Houses.

Partnership Initiative Budget

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what factors are taken into consideration when deciding how funding is allocated to projects from the Partnership Initiative Fund.

David Lammy: The Partnership Initiative Budget aims to provide flexible funding within the Community Legal Service Partnership (CLSP) framework to support initiatives which will have a direct impact on individuals' access to advice and information in priority categories of law, as identified locally.
	In order to receive funding project bids had to meet certain criteria. They had to: further a local/regional strategy for provision of legal advice services; be either local (involving a single CLSP, or part thereof) or regional (involving more than one CLSP); relate to priority need identified in a specific CLSP needs assessment or strategic plan; relate to priority areas identified by either (i) all CLSPs covered or (ii) if covering a Legal Services Commission (LSC region, the relevant Regional Legal Services Committee; encourage partnership working particularly between previously distinct advice providers or organisations; link with other public initiatives or add value to existing schemes or provision; either hold the LSC Quality Mark (QM) or be capable of gaining the QM within a year of the project being awarded funding; have a minimum of 25 per cent. match funding (cash and in kind—excluding unpaid staff time); ensure that a significant number of those who will ultimately benefit from a project should be financially eligible; provide value for money; be for a maximum of three years worth of funding; normally be for running costs; have an exit strategy; and demonstrate a commitment to Equal Opportunities.

Postal Ballots

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many people have been registered for a permanent postal vote in each constituency in the UK in each of the last three years.

Christopher Leslie: This information is not collected centrally. Individual Electoral Registration Officers may keep historical records of the number of postal voters in their registration area, though separate records are not kept of long-term postal voters and those for one election only. It is possible to apply for a postal vote at any time, and figures are not maintained on a yearly basis. Available statistics show that at the 2001 general election, 1,758,055 postal votes were issued in total (3.9 per cent. of the electorate) compared to 937,205 (2.1 per cent. of the electorate) at the 1997 general election.

Press Officers

Alan Duncan: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how much his Department spent on press officers, broken down by grade, in (a) 1996–97 and (b) the last year for which figures are available.

David Lammy: I shall reply to the hon. Member as soon as possible.

Public Records

Lynne Jones: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many files that have passed the normal 30-year closure period laid down by the Public Record Act 1958 have not been published.

Christopher Leslie: 121,923 files more than 30-years-old have been identified by the National Archives as being either closed or retained by Departments. 97,446 of these files are closed, the majority of them in order to protect personally sensitive information.

Public Relations

Vincent Cable: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the salary costs to the Department were for employees working in public relations and publicity in each year since 1997.

David Lammy: Since 12 June 2003, when the Department for Constitutional Affairs came into existence, until end March 2004 salary costs to my Department for employing public relations (all press officers) and publicity staff was £736,626.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Asia and Europe Meeting

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what response he has made to the decision by the EU to cancel forthcoming Asia and Europe Meeting (ASEM) meetings due to the proposed participation of the Burmese regime.

Mike O'Brien: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary agreed with EU colleagues that the two ASEM meetings which were due to be held in July and in September would have to be postponed, as the EU could not participate without the 10 new EU member states, who are not yet members of ASEM.
	The 10 new EU member states have applied to join ASEM at the Hanoi Summit in October, along with Cambodia, Laos and Burma. The Foreign Secretary and EU colleagues recently endorsed the appointment of Mr. Hans van den Broek as Special Envoy of the Presidency, to consult ASEM partners on an acceptable and feasible solution to handling Burma in the context of ASEM enlargement.

Burma

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received concerning the ongoing State Peace and Development (SPDC) offensives in Karen and Karenni states in recent weeks; and if he will now make urgent representations to the SPDC regime in Burma concerning those offensives.

Mike O'Brien: We welcome the oral ceasefire agreement between the SPDC and the Karen National Union (KNU) and hope that this will lead to a lasting peace settlement. But we remain concerned that offensives continue.
	We regularly raise our concerns on human rights in Burma with the Burmese regime including the suffering of ethnic groups such as the Karen and Karenni, most recently when I met the Burmese ambassador on 1 June.
	Human rights violations have been highlighted by successive highly critical UK and EU co-sponsored UN Resolutions, most recently at the UN Commission on Human Rights on 21 April. This referred to the violations of human rights suffered in particular by persons belonging to ethnic minorities, women and children, especially in non-ceasefire areas and the situation of the large number of internally displaced persons as well as the flow of refugees to neighbouring countries. It emphasised the obligations of Burma under international law to pursue through dialogue and peaceful means the immediate suspension and permanent end of conflict with all ethnic groups in the country and to conclude a ceasefire agreement with the KNU.

Burma

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will strengthen sanctions against the Burmese regime.

Mike O'Brien: Our policy remains as set out in the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Portsmouth, South (Mr. Hancock) on 24 May 2004, Official Report, column 1357W.

Cameroon

Bill Tynan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement about the arrest of BBC staff by the Cameroon authorities.

Chris Mullin: Two BBC journalists were arrested in the Bakassi peninsula earlier this month. One was South African, the other Cameroonian. At the request of the BBC, the British High Commission in Yaounde made enquiries of the Cameroonian authorities on 12 July. The Cameroonian authorities had given the journalists permission to travel in Cameroon, but it was unclear whether their permits included the Bakassi peninsula. Partly as a result of our intervention, both journalists were released on 16 July.

Chagos Islands

Bill Tynan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to his answer of 24 June 2004, Official Report, column 1528W, whether persons detained by the US armed forces arriving in the Chagos islands require entry permits.

Bill Rammell: The United States authorities have repeatedly assured us that no detainees have at any time passed in transit through Diego Garcia or its territorial waters, or have disembarked there. The Government are satisfied that these assurances are correct. The issue of entry permits for detainees arriving in the Chagos islands does not therefore arise.

Democratic Republic of Congo

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what changes there have been in the commitment by the UK Government to the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo in (a) monetary terms, (b) assistance in kind and (c) manpower under UN Security Council Resolution 1493 compared to UN Security Council Resolution 1279; what changes have taken place since 28 July 2003; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: UK assistance to the UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC) has increased since UN Security Council Resolution 1279 of November 1999, as exigencies have dictated. Figures for 1999 are not readily available, but available figures from 2001 to UN Security Council Resolution 1493 of July 2003 show that UK commitment to MONUC has:
	In monetary terms, increased from £10.7 million in 2001–02 to £18.5 million in 2002–03. In the period after Resolution 1493, i.e. in 2003–04, the UK's monetary contribution amounted to £33.8 million. It is expected to total approximately 28.7 million in 2004–05. These figures are for the UK's assessed contribution to MONUC through the UN only.
	In addition to the UK's assessed contribution to MONUC through the UN, the UK also gives additional and voluntary assistance to MONUC's peacekeeping activities. In 2001–02, the UK contributed £588,000 in additional assistance to MONUC, and £669,000 in 2002–03. In the period after Resolution 1493, i.e. in 2003–04, the UK contributed £1.8 million (including £1.1 million to an EU peace support operation). The UK will likely contribute an additional £1 million to the peacekeeping effort in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2004–05.
	In terms of manpower, the UK had six officers in MONUC from 2000 to 2003, now reduced to five. The UK currently has five troops serving with MONUC. The UK also contributed a Royal Engineer squadron and two aircraft to the EU peace support operation to DRC (an interim measure lasting from June-September 2003). Also as part of the EU operation, the UK deployed staff to assist in the operation's headquarters in Paris and Entebbe. In total, the UK contributed 120 staff to the operation.

Democratic Republic of Congo

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many personnel are authorised to be deployed with the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo under UN Security Council Resolution 1493; how many are deployed; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: UN Security Council Resolution 1493 (2003), of 28 July 2003, authorised an increase of the military strength of the UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC) to 10,800 personnel. As of 31 May 2004 (the most up-to-date figures available), MONUC's military strength stood at 10,715 uniformed personnel.

Democratic Republic of Congo

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what proposals (a) he, (b) members of his Department and (c) other members and representatives of the UK Government have made for a UN Security Council Resolution (i) to extend and (ii) to modify the mandate of the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo; when he expects such a resolution to be passed; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Mullin: We are in regular discussion with the Secretariat of the United Nations about the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC). We await the UN Secretary-General's report and recommendations for the future of MONUC, due on 15 August. We will consider these carefully. We expect a Security Council resolution on MONUC to be passed before the end of September.

Democratic Republic of Congo

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has (a) sought and (b) had with (i) his EU member state counterparts, (ii) EU officials, (iii) his US counterpart, (iv) his African Union member state counterparts, (v) UN officials, (vi) other Foreign Ministers and (vii) members of non-governmental organisations concerning the mandate of the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo; what suggestions for change of the mandate were put forward during these meetings; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Mullin: I discussed ways to improve the UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo's (MONUC) effectiveness with African leaders and other members of the international community at the African Union Summit on 6 July and also during my visits to the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda in June. UK officials have also discussed this with EU partners, US and UN officials. We have received recommendations from NGOs on modifying MONUC's mandate. Possible options include increased troop numbers and a clarification of MONUC's mandate under Chapter VII. We await the Secretary-General's report and recommendations for the future of MONUC, due on 15 August. We will consider these carefully.

Democratic Republic of Congo

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs who the five main contributors to the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo are in terms of (a) military observers, (b) military contingent, (c) monetary contribution and (d) contribution in kind; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: The five main contributors of Military Observers to the UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC), as of 31 May 2004 are:
	
		
			 Country Numbers contributed 
		
		
			 India 33 
			 Kenya and Nigeria (54)28 
			 Romania, Russia, Tunisia, Uruguay and Mali (54)27 
			 Pakistan 26 
			 Malawi 24 
		
	
	(54) Per country.
	The five main contributors to the MONUC military contingent, as of 31 May 2004 are:
	
		
			 Country Numbers contributed 
		
		
			 Uruguay 1,800 
			 Bangladesh 1,309 
			 South Africa 1,269 
			 Nepal 1,226 
			 Pakistan 1,066 
		
	
	The five main monetary contributors to MONUC, based on the UN's scale of assessment for July 2004 are:
	
		
			 Country Percentage of costs contributed 
		
		
			 USA 26.7 
			 Japan 19.5 
			 Germany 8.6 
			 UK 7.4 
			 France 7.3 
		
	
	The information as to amounts of contribution in kind is not readily available. But the main five contributors of civilian police to MONUC, as of 31 May 2004 are:
	
		
			 Country Numbers contributed 
		
		
			 Niger 19 
			 Turkey 13 
			 Benin 12 
			 Cote d'Ivoire, France and Serbia and Montenegro (55)11 
			 Burkina Faso and Mali (55)10 
		
	
	(55) Per country.

Democratic Republic of Congo

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made concerning the impact of the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo on the security situation for civilians in (a) the Democratic Republic of Congo and (b) the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: The United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) has contributed significantly to an improved security situation throughout the country, including in the east, where it has increased its presence. But there is still work needed to further improve humanitarian agencies' access to vulnerable populations and to help secure the safe return of internally displaced persons (IDPs). MONUC is also working with international donors to establish a functioning police and judicial system.

Democratic Republic of Congo

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made of (a) the impact of and (b) which parties are participating in resource exploitation and smuggling to support the conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Mullin: Resource exploitation has been a significant contributing factor to conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The UN Expert Panel reports on the Illegal Exploitation of Natural Resources and Other Forms of Wealth in the DRC, published in 2002 and 2003, provided information linking exploitation and conflict, and named several countries and companies alleged to be involved.
	The UK supports initiatives to combat illegal resource extraction such as the Kimberley process and supports international efforts to help the Transitional National Government in the DRC rebuild its capacity to manage its natural resources in an efficient and transparent manner.

EU/US Summit

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what matters in respect of joint work on the clean up and disposition of surplus military nuclear materials in the former Soviet Union countries were discussed at the EU-US summit in Ireland on 26 June.

Bill Rammell: These matters were not discussed at the EU-US Summit in Ireland.

Green Minister

John Horam: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the activities of the Green Minister in the Department in financial year 2003–04.

Bill Rammell: As the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's (FCO) Green Minister, during the financial year 2003–04 I participated fully in the cabinet committee of Green Ministers (ENV(G)) and in the Sustainable Development Task Force which first met in May 2003.
	I have encouraged implementation in the FCO of the Framework for Sustainable Development on the Government Estate, including agreeing waste, procurement, and renewable energy and energy efficiency targets. In August 2003 I inaugurated our contract with 'Greenworks', responsible for re-using and re-cycling the FCO's surplus furniture. The media were invited to attend the event to publicise the inauguration and the wider sustainability agenda. I agreed the FCO contribution to the Government response to the Environmental Audit Committee report 'Greening Government 2003', providing information on our progress towards integrating sustainable development into our policy-making, and the performance of our UK estate.
	I also agreed the FCO contribution to the Government response to the House of Commons Audit Committee (EAC) October 2003 report 'World Summit on Sustainable Development 2002—from Rhetoric to Reality' on our progress towards meeting the commitments made at WSSD.
	I am actively involved in the review of the 1999 UK Sustainable Development Strategy 'A better quality of life' and took part in the launch of the consultation on the new strategy earlier this year. The FCO is working with Defra, DFID and DTI to ensure that international issues are integrated into the new UK Sustainable Development Strategy.
	I have also been working closely on the drafting of the FCO Sustainable Development Strategy, which we aim to launch later this year.

International Atomic Energy Agency

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he asked the International Atomic Energy Agency to share with the United Kingdom the primary source documentation it holds on Iraq's interest in procuring uranium from Niger.

Bill Rammell: No. Copies of the documentation were made available to the UK at the time that they were passed to the International Atomic Energy Agency in February 2003.

Iraq

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what instructions and guidance have been given to members of the armed forces and other United Kingdom personnel and contractors in Iraq as to the obligations imposed by (a) the United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and (b) the United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment; and if he will make a statement.

Jack Straw: holding answer 20 July 2004
	: The UK armed forces are fully aware of their obligations under international law. They are given thorough mandatory training, which includes specific guidance on handling prisoners of war. All personnel must attend refresher training every year. Other UK personnel going to Iraq who are likely to be involved in activities that require an understanding of these international obligations are also given appropriate guidance.
	UK staff seconded from HM Prison Service are deployed to Iraq solely to act as monitors and mentors within civil prisons run by the Iraqi Correctional Service, where all prisoners are held on remand or following conviction of criminal charges in civil courts. All HM Prison Service staff receive in-depth training on their roles and responsibilities and act at all times in accordance with international statutes and conventions.
	There are no contractors employed by the UK in Iraq who have duties in detention facilities or who are involved in activities that may require an understanding of these international obligations.

Iraq

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps have been taken since the occupation of Iraq to ensure that (a) members of the armed forces and other United Kingdom personnel and persons employed by contractors there comply with international human rights and humanitarian law, (b) there are effective safeguards and sanctions against abuse by contractors and (c) there are effective remedies for any victims of such abuse.

Jack Straw: holding answer 20 July 2004
	I refer the right hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave to him today (UIN 183941).
	UK armed forces personnel are subject to UK law as they would be in the UK. As in the UK or in other operational theatres, the responsibility for enforcing the law lies with the Royal Military Police. Anyone found to have broken the law is dealt with appropriately, but of course it is important to establish the facts first. This is what we are now doing with regard to allegations against UK military personnel in Iraq.
	The Coalition Provisional Authority put in place a number of regulations that apply to foreign contractors in Iraq. These regulations are set out in CPA Order 17 and CPA Memorandum 17, which can be found on the CPA website at www.cpa-iraq.org.
	Any claims arising from actions attributable to UK military personnel will be considered against UK national law.

Iraq

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the security contractors his Department uses for operations in Iraq about them (a) being subject to Iraqi law and (b) being recipients of immunities subsequent to the transfer of sovereignty; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: The only security contractors that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office uses in Iraq are those involved in protecting the premises and staff of our missions there. The staff provided by those contractors are accredited to our embassy in Baghdad and our embassy offices in Basra and Kirkuk and thus benefit from diplomatic status and immunities.

Iraq

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  whether the signals intelligence from GCHQ concerning a visit by an Iraqi official to Niger, referred to in Paragraph 89 of Cm 5972, relates to the UK Government claim that Iraq sought to procure uranium from Africa;
	(2)  pursuant to the answer of 19 May 2004, Official Report, column 1085W, and 30 January 2004, Official Report, column 581W, on Iraq, whether the source upon which it based its claim in the September 2002 dossier, that Iraq sought to procure uranium from Africa, is the same information that it understands was discussed with the International Atomic Energy Authority before 7 March 2003;
	(3)  pursuant to the answer of 26 May 2004, Official Report, columns 1638–39W, on Iraq, between what dates the September 2002 source upon which the Government based its claim that Iraq sought to procure uranium from Africa indicated that the attempted procurement took place;
	(4)  pursuant to the answer of 26 May 2004, Official Report, column 1639W, on Iraq, whether the documentary evidence reported in June 2002, referred to in Paragraph 89 of the Intelligence and Security Committee Report, Cm 5972, upon which the Government did not rely to back up its claim that Iraq sought to procure uranium from Africa, was found to be (a) forged and (b) the same as any of the documents described as forged by the International Atomic Energy Agency on 7 March 2003;
	(5)  pursuant to the answer of 26 May 2004, Official Report, column 1639W, on Iraq, whether the Government have established the origin and history of the documents referred to as still under consideration in Paragraph 4 of the Further Supplementary Memorandum from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Iraqi Attempts to Procure Uranium, of July 2003, Written Evidence to the Foreign Affairs Committee, Ninth Report, HC 813-II;
	(6)  pursuant to the answer of 26 April 2004, Official Report, column 774W and 6 May 2004, Official Report, column 1733W, on Iraq, what form the second intelligence source reported in September 2002 took;
	(7)  pursuant to the answer of 26 April 2004, Official Report, columns 1733–34W, on Iraq, whether his reference to the intelligence that the Government understand was discussed with the International Atomic Energy Authority is to the second source referred to in paragraph 93 of the Intelligence and Security Committee's report, Iraq Weapons of Mass Destruction.

Jack Straw: I have nothing further to add. However, my hon. Friend will be aware that Lord Butler's Inquiry reviewed the intelligence relating to this matter in detail and concluded at paragraph 503 that:
	"From our examination of the intelligence and other material on Iraqi attempts to buy uranium from Africa, we have concluded that:
	a. It is accepted by all parties that Iraqi officials visited Niger in 1999.
	b. The British Government had intelligence from several different sources indicating that this visit was for the purpose of acquiring uranium. Since uranium constitutes almost three-quarters of Niger's exports, the intelligence was credible.
	c. The evidence was not conclusive that Iraq actually purchased, as opposed to having sought, uranium and the British Government did not claim this.
	d. The forged documents were not available to the British Government at the time its assessment was made, and so the fact of the forgery does not undermine it."

Iraq

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the source was of the intelligence received by the United Kingdom in 2002 in respect of alleged attempts by Iraq to purchase uranium from Niger to which reference is made at paragraph 495 of the Butler Committee report on intelligence on weapons of mass destruction.

Jack Straw: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham, Selly Oak (Lynne Jones) today in response to series of questions on the issue of this intelligence (UINs 185176, 185220, 185221, 185222, 185223, 185226, 185227).

Iraq

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether his Department was the source of the statement at paragraph 501 of the Butler Committee Report on intelligence on weapons of mass destruction in respect of the date on which the British Government first learned of the United States' and other states' receipt of documents alleging Iraqi attempts to secure uranium from Niger.

Bill Rammell: The Butler Review carried out its work independently of the Government. It would not be appropriate therefore for the Government to comment on who gave what evidence to the Review. However, the hon. Member may wish to consult the report of the Intelligence and Security Committee on Iraqi Weapons of Mass Destruction—Intelligence and Assessments, paras 87–93 which also deals with this issue.

Iraq

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which members of the security services briefed the Leader of the Opposition prior to the vote in the House on 18 March regarding the invasion of Iraq.

Jack Straw: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister gave to the right hon. Member for Chingford and Wood Green (Mr. Duncan Smith) in the House on 9 July 2003, Official Report, column 1151.

Iraq

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to his answer of 8 July 2004, Official Report, column 846W, on Iraq, whether Iraq's oil production was metered during Coalition Provision Authority rule; and how much oil was produced by Iraq during the Coalition's tenure.

Bill Rammell: When the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) took office there were no functioning meters in the Iraqi oil system. The CPA oil team had been pressing for meters to be installed as a matter of urgency, but as of 28 June—when the CPA dissolved—the issue remained outstanding. However oil exports, either by pipeline to Ceyhan in Turkey or by tanker through the Arabian Gulf, were metered as they passed into the receiving tanks.
	Oil production during the CPA's tenure for each month from June 2003 to April 2004 is shown in table 1. Weekly data from May to the beginning of July 2004 is shown in table 2.
	
		Table 1: Iraq—average daily crude oil production
		
			  Barrels per day (million) 
		
		
			 2003  
			 June 0.453 
			 July 0.573 
			 August 1.053 
			 September 1.403 
			 October 1.753 
			 November 1.853 
			 December 1.952 
			 2004  
			 January 2.103 
			 February 2.003 
			 March 2.203 
			 April 2.303 
		
	
	
		Table 2: Iraq—average daily crude oil production
		
			  Barrels per day (million) 
		
		
			 2004  
			 30 April to 6 May 2.4 
			 7–13 May 1.9 
			 14–20 May 1.8 
			 21–27 May 2.25 
			 28 May to 3 June 2.4 
			 4–10 June 2.3 
			 11–17 June 2.1 
			 18–24 June 1.15 
			 25 June to 1 July 1.3

Iraq

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether members of his departmental staff were informed in July 2003 that the Secret Intelligence Service in that month had withdrawn reporting from a source who claimed that the production of biological and chemical agents had been accelerated by the Iraqi regime, because the source of the reporting had subsequently been deemed unreliable.

Jack Straw: We have nothing further to add to the remarks that were made in last Tuesday's debate on Iraq.

Kashmir

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to (a) the Indian Government and (b) the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir concerning the decision to expel Mr. Jim Borst from Kashmir.

Mike O'Brien: We believe Father Jim Borst is a Dutch citizen. It would be therefore for the Dutch authorities to act. We have alerted the Netherlands embassy in New Delhi, which is looking into his case.

Kenya

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will place in the Library evidence provided by Her Majesty's High Commissioner in Kenya to the Kenyan Government in support of his speech to Kenyan businessmen; and which company it was whose name was omitted from published versions of his remarks.

Chris Mullin: holding answer 20 July 2004
	We are responding to requests for information from the competent Kenyan authorities. They have asked us not to divulge details in order to avoid prejudicing ongoing anti-corruption investigations.
	No company names were omitted from the published version of the High Commissioner's speech.

Kenya

Bill Tynan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement about the current state of relations with Kenya.

Chris Mullin: The UK currently enjoys excellent bilateral relations with Kenya.

Kenya

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the Department's assessment of the level of corruption within the Kenyan Government is.

Chris Mullin: In its 2003 report, Transparency International judged Kenya to be the eleventh most corrupt country globally. There are certainly frequent allegations of unsatisfactory tendering and contracting procedures in which senior members of the Kenyan Government are allegedly involved. We have been pressing strongly for these to be fully investigated and firm action taken against any individual shown to have been involved in any corrupt practice. The British Government are co-operating fully with investigations.

Maldives

Roger Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has received concerning the first sitting on 19 July of the special Majlis in the Republic of Maldives; and if he will make a statement.

Mike O'Brien: We welcome the start of the Special Majlis and the opportunity this provides for the people of the Maldives and their elected representatives to consider constitutional reform. We welcome the proposals made in President Gayoom's speech of 9 June and his commitment to a free and transparent debate. The opening session was temporarily suspended after disagreement on the voting procedure for a speaker. We look to all concerned to resolve this matter as soon as possible to allow the session to begin. We will continue to follow events in the Maldives closely.

Maldives

Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the situation in the Maldives.

Mike O'Brien: We welcomed President Gayoom's speech of 9 June, which proposed wide ranging constitutional reforms to develop and strengthen democracy in the Maldives, including the right to establish political parties, the full separation of powers, establishing the office of Prime Minister and limiting the terms of President. We welcome President Gayoom's commitment to free and open debate, and look to the Maldivian authorities to ensure this. The Special Majlis on constitutional reform will be key. We will continue to follow events in the Maldives closely.

Middle East

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions his Department has had with other Middle East partners and states concerning stability in the region.

Bill Rammell: holding answer of 21 July 2004
	My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has in the last three months spoken to the Foreign Ministers of Egypt, the Palestinian Authority and Israel, as well as EU counterparts and the US Secretary of State.
	My noble Friend the Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean has recently visited Syria (8–9 June) and Israel (28–30 June). Regional issues were discussed during both of these visits.

Middle East

Jenny Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Israeli Government concerning the crushing to death of Ibrahim Mahmoud Khalafallah during the demolition of homes in Gaza.

Bill Rammell: The demolition of homes is a form of collective punishment and harms innocent civilians. It fuels anger among Palestinians and makes a peaceful settlement more difficult to achieve. We continue to raise our concerns with the Government of Israel about such actions. We recognise Israel's right to defend itself against terrorism, but it must act within the parameters of international law.
	We have not made specific representations to the Government of Israel concerning the death of Ibrahim Mahmoud Khalafallah.

Middle East

Jenny Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Israeli Government concerning the targeting of British hon. Members and Peers by soldiers of the Israeli Defence Force in June; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: We have raised our concerns with the Israeli Government and the Israeli ambassador about the shots that were reportedly fired at a group of British Parliamentarians during their visit to Rafah on 18 June. We have asked the Israelis for an explanation.

Middle East

Jenny Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to his colleagues in the Quartet concerning Israel's retention of settlements in the West Bank following the withdrawal from Gaza.

Bill Rammell: The UK is represented in the Quartet (UN, US, EU, Russia) through the EU. We, EU partners and other Quartet members have made clear that Prime Minister Sharon's plan to withdraw from Gaza and part of the West Bank would provide a rare moment of opportunity in the search for peace in the Middle East. At the same time they have said that all final settlement issues, including borders, are to be decided through negotiations between the parties. The UK fully supports this position.

Middle East

Jenny Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Israeli Government concerning freedom of movement of Palestinians in and out of the Gaza Strip after the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.

Bill Rammell: As the Quartet (UN, US, Russia, EU) set out on 4 May, securing freedom of movement for the Palestinian population will be an important element in ensuring that withdrawals bring about an improved quality of life for the Palestinian people. The World Bank report of 24 June also cited improved freedom of movement as essential to development of the Palestinian economy.
	We have discussed withdrawal and its implications with the parties and will continue to do so. My noble Friend the Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean discussed withdrawal with several Israeli Ministers during her visit to the region on 28 to 30 June, and made clear the importance of maximum freedom of movement for Palestinians following Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.

Middle East

Jenny Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Israeli Government concerning the route of the security barrier.

Bill Rammell: As my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary said in the House on 13 July 2004, Official Report, columns 1240–41, he and my noble Friend the Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean have discussed the issue of the barrier with Israeli Ministers on many occasions. We have consistently made it clear to the Israeli Government that the barrier built on occupied territory is illegal. Most recently the Foreign Secretary discussed the issue of the barrier and the ICJ ruling with Israeli Foreign Minister Shalom on 15 July.

Parliamentary Questions

Angela Browning: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he expects to reply substantively to the question tabled by the hon. Member for Tiverton and Honiton, ref 182518.

Bill Rammell: My right hon. Friend the Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Mr. MacShane) replied substantively on 14 July 2004, Official Report, column 1187W.

Policies (Environmental Impact)

John Horam: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many new policy proposals or significant changes in policy were produced in (a) 2002–03 and (b) 2003–04; how many of these were screened for their environmental impacts; and how many were the subject of separate environmental appraisals.

Bill Rammell: In considering new policy proposals we take into account all relevant factors including the environmental impact where appropriate.
	Business cases, design studies and specifications for major estate developments and contracts include an assessment of environmental impact and measures to achieve good environmental performance.
	The information requested on the total number of new policy proposals and significant changes in policy proposals for the years in question is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate costs.

Rwanda

Jenny Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Rwandan Government concerning the parliamentary commission in Rwanda requesting the dissolution of four civil society human rights organisations.

Chris Mullin: We are concerned by the content and methodology of the Parliamentary Commission's report on Genocidal Ideology. We have registered our concerns with the Rwandan Government. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Development (Hilary Benn) raised this with the Rwandan ambassador on 5 July. Our Ambassador to Rwanda also discussed this report with the Minister for Good Governance on 16 July. We will continue to encourage Rwanda to open up space for the operation of civil society.

Seal Culls

Bill Tynan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to (a) his Canadian counterpart and (b) the Canadian Government in respect of the use of independent monitoring of seal culls.

Mike O'Brien: I spoke to the Canadian High Commissioner in April about the seal cull in Canada. I encouraged the Canadian Government in an adjournment debate on seal hunting to ensure that their monitoring regulations are implemented in practice and do not just lie on the statute book—Official Report, columns 219WH to 222WH. On both occasions, I also made clear this Government's view that we do not accept the need for any seal cull, but if one does take place it should be sustainable and based on a precautionary principle. The Canadian Government monitors the operation of their seal culling regulations.

Sudan

Harold Best: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps the Government is taking to resolve the situation in Darfur.

Chris Mullin: We are urging the Government of Sudan to honour the commitments it has given to rein in the Janjaweed, remove the obstacles to humanitarian access, and facilitate deployment of the African Union-led Ceasefire Commission (AU CFC). We are urging the UN Security Council to keep the situation under review, and consider further steps if there is no significant progress soon.
	The priority is to improve the security situation and to respond to the humanitarian crisis, Since September 2003, we have provisionally allocated £62.5 million to the humanitarian response, including £2 million we have contributed to the AU CFC, This makes the UK the second largest bilateral donor in Darfur.
	We continue to urge all sides to meet soon to discuss a political solution.

Sustainable Energy

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the US Department of State on sustainable energy consumption.

Bill Rammell: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has not had any recent discussions with the US Department of State on Sustainable Energy.
	Ministerial colleagues have had extensive discussions on sustainable energy with a range of US contacts including Under Secretary of State for Global Affairs, Paula Dobriansky. There are a host of on-going discussions with the US on sustainable energy. For example the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), through its Embassy in Washington, works closely with contacts in the US and Whitehall Departments on various US-led international technology partnerships. One example is the International Partnership for a Hydrogen Economy. We are also working to engage with the US on sustainable energy through the Commission on Sustainable development (CSD).
	The FCO has also, in co-operation with other government departments, secured US sign-up to the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP). I launched the REEEP in London in October 2003 with my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Trade and Industry (Patricia Hewitt) and Environment (Margaret Beckett) and had a bilateral discussion with US Department of Energy Assistant Secretary David Garman. In April this year Paula Dobriansky (Under Secretary of State for Global Affairs) formally signed the US government up as a partner of the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership and agreed to contribute $50,000 a year to help fund the REEEP's International Secretariat in Vienna. Larisa Dobriansky (US Department of Energy) is also a representative on the REEEP Governing Board.

Turkey

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the issue of violence against women in Turkey was raised in the UK/Turkey Human Rights Dialogue meeting on 15 July; and if he will make a statement.

Denis MacShane: The issue of violence against women in Turkey was raised at the fourth UK/Turkey Human Rights Dialogue on 15 July. The UK side welcomed the recent progress made by Turkey on women's rights, including on revisions made to the draft Turkish Penal Code, and the constitutional amendment asserting gender equality signed by the President in May. We encouraged them to take further steps to improve the situation of women in Turkey including through the provision of shelters, further training of the judiciary in adopting sentences commensurate with the gravity of the offence, and training of the police and gendarme in how to respond immediately and effectively to violence against women. The Turkish delegation undertook to consider the points raised.

Turkmenistan

Bill Tynan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of freedom of religion in Turkmenistan; and what representations he has made to the Government of Turkmenistan in respect of (a) freedom of Christian worship, (b) raids on houses and premises used by Christians and (c) the imprisonment of Christians for religious activities.

Bill Rammell: We remain seriously concerned by reports of religious intolerance and human rights abuses against Christian and other religions in Turkmenistan. Religious freedom is guaranteed under the Turkmen constitution, but the requirement for religious groups to register remains a major obstacle. Religious activity in Turkmenistan remains tightly controlled and even registered religions are at best tolerated by the state.
	The UK actively supports the promotion of human rights including freedom of thought, conscience, religion and belief. We remain in close touch with representatives of religious groups and NGOs in Turkmenistan to promote freedom of religion. We are aware of a number of prominent human rights cases, including allegations of religious persecution and imprisonment. We are also aware of raids on premises used by Christians, in particular, prior to autumn 2003, although none have so far been reported to our embassy in 2004. We condemn all instances where religious groups are persecuted because of their faith or belief, wherever they happen and whatever the religion of the individual or group concerned. Our ambassador in Turkmenistan together with EU and US colleagues, regularly raises specific cases of religious persecution with the Turkmen Government, and takes every opportunity to urge the pursuit of laws and practices that foster tolerance and mutual respect.
	The recent decision by the Turkmen Government to decriminalise unregistered religious activity is a positive development and we welcome the registration of two religious minorities: the Baha'is and the Seventh Day Adventists.
	We will continue to monitor the situation closely and push for further progress on this issue.

UN Relief and Works Agency

Jenny Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Israeli Government concerning the incident involving Peter Hansen, Director General of the UN Relief and Works Agency, when he was delivering food supplies to Beit Hanoun.

Bill Rammell: We are concerned at the continuing levels of violence in the Occupied Territories and the resulting humanitarian impact. We have urged the Israeli Government to ensure aid agencies are able to provide humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian population. We have made clear our concern at actions which constitute excessive use of force and result in the injury and death of civilians. We have made no specific representations about the incident involving Peter Hansen.

US Senate Intelligence Committee Report

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has to evaluate the content and conclusions of the United States Senate Intelligence Committee report on the US Intelligence Community's Prewar Intelligence Assessments on Iraq, published on 9 July, in so far as they are relevant to the United Kingdom policies on intelligence.

Jack Straw: This is a matter for the US authorities.

Vietnam

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Government of Vietnam concerning the arrests of (a) Nguyen Hieu Nghia, Nguyen Thanh Nhan, Pham Ngoc Thach and Nguyen Van Phuong on 2 March in Ho Chi Minh City, (b) Le Thi Hong Lien on 3 July in Ho Chi Minh City, (c) Ly Chin Sang, Ly Sin Quang, Vang Chin Sang and Vang My Ly in late 2003 and now in prison and (d) Father Nguyen Van Ly in 2001 and serving a five year sentence; and what representations he has made concerning (i) the treatment of Nguyen Thanh Nhan and Pham Ngoc Thach when they were detained in police stations and (ii) the conditions in prison for Christians.

Mike O'Brien: With EU partners, we participate in a regular EU-Vietnam Human Rights Dialogue with Vietnam. The last meeting, attended by our ambassador in Hanoi, was held on 22 June. Freedom of religion and the plight of unlicensed Christian groups were among the issues raised by the EU. We also raised our concerns regarding fair trials and prison conditions in Vietnam.
	The EU maintains a list of prisoners/detainees of concern in Vietnam, which currently includes Father Nguyen Van Ly.
	We are currently investigating, with EU partners, events surrounding the reported arrest of Rev. Nguyen Hong Quang and some of his followers in Ho Chi Minh City earlier this year including Nguyen Hieu Nghia, Nguyen Thanh Nhan, Pham Ngoc Thach and Nguyen Van Phuong.

Zimbabwe

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assistance the Government offer to UK citizens living in Zimbabwe who wish to return to the UK.

Chris Mullin: We offer UK nationals living in Zimbabwe the same assistance as we would to UK nationals living in any other country. If requested, we can contact relatives or friends in the UK to ask for financial or other assistance. We may also be able to help with travel documents. We can provide information on such things as state benefits, health and education services, citizenship and employment, and inform returning UK nationals about the options available to them on return to the UK.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Additional Households

Peter Lilley: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister 
	(1)  how many additional households he estimates will be created in the South East region including London and the South, South West and Eastern regions between (a) 2001 to 2011 and (b) 2021 to 2031 as a result of (i) the reduction in the average number of people per household, (ii) the excess of births over deaths among those residents in 2001, (iii) net immigration from the rest of the UK including subsequent births less deaths and (iv) net immigration from outside the UK including subsequent births less deaths;
	(2)  how many additional households he estimates were created in the South East region including London and the South, South West and Eastern regions in each of the last two decades as a result of (a) the reduction in the average number of people per household, (b) excess of births over deaths among the initially resident population, (c) net immigration from other parts of the UK including subsequent births less deaths and (d) net immigration from outside the UK including subsequent births less deaths;
	(3)  how many additional households he estimates were created in the UK in each of the last two decades as a result of (a) the reduction in the average number of people per household, (b) the excess of births over deaths and (c) the excess of immigration over emigration including subsequent births less deaths;
	(4)  what change in the number of households created in the UK between (a) 2001 to 2011 and (b) 2021 to 2031 he estimates will result in (i) changes in the average number of people per household, (ii) the difference between births and deaths from the population resident in 2001 and (iii) the difference between immigration over emigration including subsequent births less deaths.

Keith Hill: The information is not available at present. We will write our reply when we are able to produce the required statistics.

Postal Ballots

Philip Hammond: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether the Government intends to publish a consultation on the roll-out of all postal ballots this year.

Nick Raynsford: The Government intend to make a decision on this matter once it has the benefit of the Electoral Commission's evaluation of the all-postal pilots held in June 2004 in the north-east, north-west, east midlands, and Yorkshire and the Humber regions under the European Parliamentary and Local Elections (Pilots) Act 2004.

Accessibility Planning Projects

Sydney Chapman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what progress has been made since January 2004 with accessibility planning pilot projects and the development of accessibility indicators; and what plans he has to produce further guidance on how to incorporate community infrastructure projects, including schools, hospitals and open space, into masterplans and other spatial plans for the Thames Gateway.

Keith Hill: The Department for Transport completed the eight accessibility planning pilots in April 2004. Six core accessibility indicators have been agreed, which include access to education and health care (two indicators each) and access to jobs and major retail centres. Each English Local Transport Authority outside London will report against these indicators as part of their next Local Transport Plan. The indicators and the findings of the pilots will also inform the development of planning policy guidance. In addition the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is developing an accessibility indicator for local planning authorities, as part of their annual monitor reporting requirements under section 35 of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004.
	The Government will shortly be publishing policy guidance in respect to Regional Spatial Strategies (Planning Policy Statement 11) and Local Development Frameworks (Planning Policy Statement 12) which will apply in Thames Gateway as elsewhere. In particular, the latter will set out guidance in respect to masterplans and other forms of area action plan, explaining how local planning authorities should adopt a spatial approach to development which incorporates the need for community infrastructure including schools and hospitals.
	In the Thames Gateway the Government will also be issuing guidance to local delivery vehicles that are currently being established in priority development areas. This guidance will focus on the development of sustainable communities in line with the principles set out in "Sustainable Communities : building for the future", including the need to work with relevant local service providers to plan for the delivery of schools, healthcare provision and good quality public spaces alongside housing growth.

Brent Council Properties

Sarah Teather: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many previously non-Brent tenants moved into Brent Council properties in each year since 1997; and how many of these were families with children.

Keith Hill: Information on the number of Local Authority dwellings let through mobility arrangements since 1997–98 in Brent is tabled.
	Lettings under mobility arrangements include the Housing Organisation Mobility Exchange Service (HOMES) and other similar schemes. The majority of households transferring under these schemes will come from outside the local authority boundary, but may include Registered Social Landlord tenants moving to Local Authority dwellings within Brent. Information on the number of families with children cannot be distinguished in the data.
	Both mutual exchanges, and lettings made directly from the housing waiting list may also include households from outside the Brent area, but these households and those that are families with children cannot be distinguished.
	
		LA dwellings let through mobility arrangements in Brent
		
			  
		
		
			 1997–98 19 
			 1998–99 16 
			 1999–00 10 
			 2000–01 20 
			 2001–02 3 
			 2002–03 11 
		
	
	Source:
	ODPM's Housing Investment Programme Return

Brent Council Properties

Sarah Teather: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many local authority-owned properties in Brent do not meet the Government's decent homes standard; and what the estimated cost is of bringing them up to this standard.

Keith Hill: In their Business Plan Statistical Appendix Brent reported that 5,211 local authority-owned properties did not meet the Government's decent homes standard at April 2003. Based on an assessment of their costs presented at the time of their bid their Arms Length Management Organisations have been allocated £33.8 million to date to bring properties up to decent homes.

Departmental Advertising

Vincent Cable: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much money was spent on advertising and promotional literature for his Department's initiatives, broken down by year since 1997.

Phil Hope: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister was created on 29 May 2002.
	In the financial year 2002–03 the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister spent £3,347,000 on advertising, the majority on the Fire Safety campaign, and approximately £700,000 on promotional literature.
	In the financial year 2003–04 the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister spent £3,411,000 on advertising, the majority on the Fire Safety campaign, and approximately £650,000 on promotional literature.
	Figures for the Department's agencies and non-departmental bodies are not held centrally and could be supplied only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Mobile Phones

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the (a) capital and (b) running cost of mobile phones to his Department was in each year since 2001.

Phil Hope: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister was created on 29 May 2002. Mobile phone costs are funded from budgets held within divisions, and they cannot be disaggregated from other communications costs.

Departmental Publicity Staff

Vincent Cable: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the salary costs to the Department were for employees working in public relations and publicity in each year since 1997.

Phil Hope: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) was created following the machinery of government changes on 29 May 2002.
	The salary costs for employees working in the Office's Directorate of Communication were £2.627 million in 2002–03 and £2.751 million in 2003–04.

Departmental Spending (Utilities)

Edward Davey: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much (a) his Department and (b) agencies of the Department have spent on (i) electricity use and (ii) water and sewerage services for each year since 1997.

Phil Hope: Since the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister was created in May 2002, the costs of electricity and water and sewerage services for the Office-and its agencies is tabled as follows:
	
		£
		
			  (a) ODPM (including Government Offices) (b) Agencies Total cost 
		
		
			 Electricity 2002–03 606,809 562,590 1,169,399 
			 Electricity 2003–04 740,191 782,454 1,522,645 
			 Water and sewerage 2002–03 110,570 106,883 217,453 
			 Water and sewerage 2003–04 74,923 120,758 195,681 
		
	
	The figures for 2003–04 are indicative as they have yet to be independently verified by the Building Research Establishment. The agreed figures will be included in the forthcoming Sustainable Development in Government Report 2003–04 to be published by Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
	Although the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has overall responsibility for the buildings occupied by Government Offices, they carry out functions on behalf of 10 Government Departments.

Departmental Vehicles

David Kidney: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many road vehicles are operated by the Department and its agencies; how many personal injury accidents involving road vehicles operated by the Department have occurred within each of the last five years; and what the Department's policy is for managing work-related road safety.

Phil Hope: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and its agencies operate six road vehicles. The Government offices for the regions operate a further 57 vehicles.
	There have been no personal injury accidents involving road vehicles operated by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, its agencies or the Government offices since the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister was created in May 2002.
	The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, its agencies and the Government offices provide training in road safety to all staff who operate road vehicles. In addition guidance and advice, based on current best practice, is made available and disseminated in printed and electronic form to all staff.
	The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has overall responsibility for Government offices they carry out functions on behalf of 10 Departments.

English Partnerships

Sue Doughty: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what (a) change and (b) percentage change there has been in English Partnerships' allowance for remediation costs in its 2004–05 budget, to meet anticipated additional costs arising from the implementation of the next phase of the Landfill Directive.

Keith Hill: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 21 July 2004, Official Report, column 321W.

Government Office for London

Karen Buck: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the percentage change in the Government Office for London's (a) running costs and (b) projected expenditure has been in each year since 1999 to 2000.

Phil Hope: Government Office for London (GOL) Running Cost (admin) expenditure and percentage change is as follows:
	
		
			  £ million Percentage change 
		
		
			 1999–2000 16.0 n/a 
			 2000–01 13.2 -17.5 
			 2001–02 13.2 0.0 
			 2002–03 14.1 6.8 
			 2003–04 16.7 18.4 
			 2004–05 18.1 8.4 
		
	
	Note:
	The expenditure figure for 2004–05 reflects the anticipated end-year outturn.

Government Office for London

Karen Buck: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list programmes managed by the Government Office for London in 2004–05, indicating in each case (a) the total funding and (b) the anticipated end date of the programme.

Phil Hope: The following table shows the Programmes managed by Government Office for London in 2004–05. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is still waiting confirmation of some of the Home Office allocations (allocation field '—'). The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has only been informed of one end date (for New and Renewable Sources of Energy, which will end in September 2004). It is anticipated that the others will continue in 2004–05 and we will be notified closer to the new financial year (2005–06) as to whether or not the Programmes will cease.
	
		
			  2004–05 
			 Sponsor department Programme budgets Allocation (£) 
		
		
			 ODPM Community Chest 5,313,331 
			 ODPM Community Empowerment Fund 2,654,485 
			 ODPM Community Learning Chest 1,287,209 
			 ODPM Public Order and Community Cohesion 92,077 
			 ODPM Disabled Facilities Grant 15,282,000 
			 ODPM Estate Action 2,600,000 
			 ODPM Greater London Authority General Grant 36,328,000 
			 ODPM Housing Action Trusts 30,500,000 
			 ODPM Single Regional Housing Pot 1,078,000,000 
			 ODPM Neighbourhood Renewal Fund 105,145,902 
			 ODPM Neighbourhood Renewal—Skills and Knowledge 124,000 
			 ODPM New Deal for Communities 62,165,548 
			 ODPM Neighbourhood Management Pathfinders 2,426,943 
			 ODPM Street Wardens 1,586,951 
			 ODPM Street Crime Wardens 4,403,993 
			 ODPM European Regional Development Fund (Objective 2) 20,240,909 
			 DfT Greater London Authority Transport Grant 2,225,111,000 
			 DEFRA Sustainable Development Publicity Budget 40,000 
			 DEFRA Sustainable Farming and Food 10,000 
			 DFES Community Champions 533,915 
			 DFES Pathfinder Young Community Champions 40,000 
			 DFES Connexions Partnership Grant Funding 70,655,842 
			 DFES Positive Activities For Young People 7,371,088 
			 DFES Transforming Youth Work (Development Funding) 1,340,874 
			 DFES Special Educational Needs/Disability Act 736,828 
			 DFES Millennium Volunteers 1,494,353 
			 DFES Vocational and Work Related Learning 100,000 
			 DFES Connexions Key Workers 5,040,000 
			 DFES Training and Development of Connexions Key Workers 270,312 
			 DFES Regional Networking 25,000 
			 DFES PAYP—GO Secondees 50,000 
			 DTI London Development Agency Grants 327,149,000 
			 DTI New and Renewable Sources of Energy 142,434 
			 DWP European Structural Fund (ESF) Objective 2 4,310,000 
			 DWP European Structural Fund (ESF) Objective 3 54,721,164 
			 Home Office Antisocial Behaviour Fund — 
			 Home Office Basic Command Unit Fund 9,995,862 
			 Home Office Building Safer Communities Fund 11,880,385 
			 Home Office Communication Funding — 
			 Home Office Gun Crime — 
			 Home Office Home Office Directors' Allocation Fund 1,243,300 
			 Home Office Neighbourhood Renewal Capacity Building Fund 250,000 
			 Home Office Drugs Team Strategic Grant — 
			 Home Office Recovered Assets Fund — 
			 Home Office Capacity Building and Infrastructure Early Spend 650,000 
			 Home Office Time Limited Development Fund 802,706 
			 Home Office Connecting Communities 1,363,343 
			 Home Office Regional Networks 87,000 
			 Home Office Vehicle Crime — 
			 Home Office Domestic Violence 300,000 
			 Total  4,093,865,754

Homeless Persons

Tom Cox: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many homeless people are estimated to be living in the Greater London area; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Hope: Information collected about local authorities' actions under homelessness legislation is in respect of households, rather than persons. Estimates of the number of households accepted as eligible for assistance, unintentionally homeless and in priority need, by London boroughs during 2003–04, and the number of homeless households in temporary accommodation in London as at the end of March 2004, is tabled as follows.
	
		Homeless households in London: 2003–04
		
			  Date Number 
		
		
			 Households accepted as homelessl 2003–04 31,530 
			 Households in temporary accommodation(57) 31 March 2004 59,170 
		
	
	(56) Households eligible under homelessness legislation and found to be unintentionally homeless and in a priority need category.
	(57) Households in temporary accommodation arranged by London boroughs pending inquiries, or after being accepted, under homelessness legislation.
	Source:
	ODPM P1E homelessness returns (quarterly)

Housing Improvement

Brian Iddon: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the latest figure is for the average cost per unit of (a) improving a local authority-owned home to the Government's Decent Homes Standard and (b) the equivalent cost for a former local authority home that has been transferred into alternative management and/or ownership through (i) the private finance initiative, (ii) an arm's length management organisation and (iii) large scale voluntary transfer.

Keith Hill: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister does not hold comparative information for the cost of making homes decent under the different forms of management. As the data were derived from different sources and in some cases covers more than the cost of making homes decent as they include costs to prevent deterioration as well as costs associated with work which falls outside the decent homes standard. Costs also depend on the condition of the homes owned.
	(a) £6,100 is the average need to spend per dwelling to make homes decent reported by local authorities.
	(b) (i) £1,370 is the average unit cost per year for 30 years for properties in a PFI scheme. PFI is used by local authorities to tackle a small number of their most challenging stock and as such unit costs are higher than the national average.
	(ii) £6,889 per dwelling is the average bid for by ALMOs on rounds 1 to 4 to make homes decent.
	(iii) £8,200 per dwelling for improvements is the average amount levered in from the private sector under LSVT.

Housing Investment

Chris Smith: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what funding made available in each year since their inception for (a) the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund for the London Borough of Islington and (b) the ECI New Deal for Communities; and what projected funding is in future years for each.

Phil Hope: The information is as follows:
	
		Neighbourhood Renewal Fund resources
		
			  £ 
		
		
			 2001–02 3,136,000 
			 2002–03 4,703,000 
			 2003–04 6,270,000 
			 2004–05 8,052,735 
			 2005–06 10,726,788 
		
	
	
		ECI New Deal for Communities partnership
		
			  £ 
		
		
			 Phase 1  
			 1999–2000 10,000 
			 Phase 2  
			 2000–01 400,000 
			 Phase 3—Delivery  
			 2001–02 910,000 
			 2002–03 2,280,000 
			 2003–04 6,289,800 
			 2004–05 5,795,500 
			 2005–06 to 2009–10 36,624,700

Housing Investment

Chris Mole: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on Government investment in housing in the next financial year.

Keith Hill: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister currently plans to provide £5.4 billion for capital investment to housing, including the growth areas, in 2005–06. This includes an estimated £1.4 billion for the Major Repairs Allowance for undertaking on-going capital works to council housing and £4 billion for investment programmes set out in the Sustainable Communities Plan. The bulk of the latter funding is provided through the Regional Housing pots to the Housing Corporation's main investment programme and to local authorities, following recommendations made by the Regional Housing Boards. Other large programmes include resources for local authorities which have set up Arms Length Management Organisations, Market Renewal Pathfinders and Thames Gateway and other growth areas. The day to day costs of maintaining and managing social housing, which are largely met from rents, are not included in the figures, nor are the non capital housing programmes.

Housing Quality Forum

Sydney Chapman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will set out the work programme of the Housing Quality Forum; and if he will make a statement on the role of the Forum in delivering the policies set out in the Sustainable Communities Plan.

Keith Hill: The Housing Quality Forum, which is a partnership between ourselves the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE), English Partnerships and the Housing Corporation, exists to facilitate a continuing debate about approaches to creating sustainable communities in the Housing Growth Areas, to champion new solutions to improving design quality and to build consensus among the private and public sector partners charged with delivery. The Forum meets twice a year and is attended by representatives from local authorities, housing associations, housing developers, regional agencies and local delivery vehicles.
	The first meeting, attended by 120 delegates, was held in March 2004, and the second in October 2004 will address issues relating to the delivery of good quality design, disseminate emerging best practice advice and present exemplary development projects in the Housing Growth Areas. More broadly, the focus will be on wider strategies for making successful places, with themes such as public open space strategies and social and cultural infrastructure that form key elements of successful and sustainable communities.

Housing Stock/Supply

Sarah Teather: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much has been spent by each London borough in each year since 1997 on (a) refurbishment, (b) redecoration and (c) renewal of its directly-owned housing stock; and what the average spending per property in each authority was each year, excluding the amount spent on central Government schemes including the New Deal.

Keith Hill: Information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost on the amount spent on refurbishment, redecoration and renewal of local authority owned dwellings, nor can the average spent per local authority dwellings be calculated.

Housing Stock/Supply

John Hayes: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer regarding increases in housing supply; and if he will make a statement.

Keith Hill: On 17 March 2004, Kate Barker reported on the review of housing supply that my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer and my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister had asked her to carry out. HM Treasury and the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) published a joint response on the same day, accepting her central recommendation that there should be a step change in housing supply, and committing to detailed consideration of her recommendations by working together over the next 12 to 18 months.
	On 13 July, my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister confirmed the outcome of the Spending Review settlement for the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister which will support investment made in previous Spending Reviews to deliver the Sustainable Communities Plan. Over the five years to 2008, the Office of the Deputy Prime will spend £38 billion to tackle housing shortages in the South and low housing demand areas in the North and Midlands. This commitment includes a 50 per cent. increase in new social house building each year, providing homes for people who most need them.

Key Workers (Housing)

Edward Davey: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister which groups of key workers can benefit from the Key Worker Living scheme in each (a) of the scheme zones and (b) English region.

Keith Hill: The Key Worker Living (KWL) scheme is operating in the London, South East and East regions of England. The following public sector groups are eligible to apply for assistance across all three regions: nurses and other NHS clinical staff; teachers in schools and further education colleges; probation officers; social workers; occupational therapists; educational psychologists; and speech and language therapists. Certain prison staff are eligible to apply across all three regions as are retained fire-fighters and whole-time junior fire officers within participating fire and rescue services and police officers, together with some civilian staff, in participating police forces. In London, local authority planners are also eligible to apply.
	The greater London region is broken down into five areas for which three zone agents are working together as a partnership. South East England is covered by a zone agent consortium. Eastern region is broken down into four areas.
	In addition to KWL, there is a key worker scheme particular to the South West region which was established by the South West Housing Body. Under the South West initiative, the definition of key workers is derived from a local assessment of need aimed at ensuring communities remain sustainable and that essential public services are maintained.

Lost/Stolen Departmental Property

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list the items that his Department has reported lost or stolen to the police from his Department's buildings and property since 2001.

Phil Hope: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Night Shelters

Tom Cox: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many night shelter beds there are in the Greater London area.

Phil Hope: This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister knows that there are around 2,750 quick access bedspaces in London hostels together with a further 13,300 bed spaces in longer stay hostels for homeless people. Some 100 people are accommodated each night in rolling shelters designed to help rough sleepers move quickly away from the streets. Other night shelters are managed predominantly by faith based organisations particularly during the Winter.

Objective 2 Funds

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether Government North East had failed to spend any allocations of European support under Objective 2 as at 31 December 2003; whether any fine was imposed; and what the profile of spending was for the 2004 calendar year.

Nick Raynsford: The Objective 2 spending targets for 2003 were met therefore no funds were lost. The ERDF element of Objective 2 is set to achieve its 2004 spend target of £153.42 million. While progress against the ESF spend target of £33.9 million has been slow, measures have been implemented to accelerate spending in the remainder of the year.

Parks and Green Spaces (Safety/Security)

Howard Stoate: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister 
	(1)  what policy measures have been introduced by his Department to protect and enhance the safety and security of the users of municipal parks and urban green spaces;
	(2)  what guidance his Department has issued to local authorities and other agencies responsible for the maintenance and management of municipal parks and urban green spaces regarding the promotion of the safety and security of park and green space users.

Keith Hill: The policies of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister for protecting and enhancing the quality of parks and green spaces are set out in Living Places—Cleaner, Safer, Greener (2002) and Sustainable Communities—building for the future (2003). Working closely with local authorities and other agencies to creating safe and secure spaces that people will want to use is a key objective of our policies, which include, for example:
	publication of 'Safer Places—the planning system and crime prevention', which shows how positive planning can contribute to crime prevention and to the creation of safer places;
	creation of CABE Space to assist local authorities and promote good practice on planning, designing, management and maintenance of urban green space; and
	publication of Living places—Caring for Quality, which advises managers of best practice in creating and maintaining safe spaces.
	The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is working closely with the Home Office through its Together—tackling anti-social behaviour action plan to prevent and reduce crime and disorder in public spaces.

Private Rented Sector

Andrew Love: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister 
	(1)  what his Department is doing to stimulate investment in the private rented sector to boost affordable housing options; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what discussions his Department is having with the investment and regulatory housing sector in relation to delivering affordable privately rented accommodation; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  if he will make a statement on his Department's work on the (a) planning and (b) production of affordable rental housing.

Keith Hill: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister set out a radical reform programme in our "Sustainable Communities Plan", which was published on 5 February 2003, to increase the provision of affordable housing, including through increased investment, improvements to the planning system and the establishment of four growth areas to provide an additional 200,000 homes. As a result of the Spending Review announced last week, the Government will more than double spending on new affordable housing since 1997 up to £2.25 billion. This funding will provide an extra 10,000 social rented homes a year by 2008—a 50 per cent. increase—to help tackle homelessness.
	The private rented sector also has an important role to play in providing affordable accommodation for those who cannot afford to buy their own homes, the growingnumber of students and single person households. The sector offers a flexible form of tenure to young professionals. It contributes to greater labour market mobility, the efficient functioning of the housing market and to the success of the wider economy.
	The Government believe that there is scope for the private rented sector to make a bigger contribution to meeting individuals' housing needs. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is seeking to encourage this including through consultation on the promotion of investment in commercial property and the private rented sector by removing the tax disadvantages currently faced by institutions. In addition, the Housing Bill seeks to raise quality, especially of management, in some of the worst parts of the private rented sector, where the most vulnerable members of society frequently bear the brunt of some of the poorest conditions and services.
	The Office of the Deputy Prime Ministers proposed update to Planning Policy Guidance Note No. 3 (PPG3) titled "Influencing the size, type and affordability of housing", due to be published in October 2004, includes the requirement that local planning authorities should address the housing requirements of the whole community by ensuring a better match between a community's housing needs and supply. It requires that all local planning authorities must have policies on affordable housing to help deliver affordable housing where it is needed. Local authorities are increasingly looking to the private rented sector as a means of meeting housing need.

Rate Relief (Small Businesses)

Brian Cotter: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to his answer of 21 June 2004, Official Report, column 1236W, on the rate relief scheme, if he will place in the Library a list of hon. and right hon. Members who have written to his Office regarding the Government's new rate relief scheme for small businesses.

Phil Hope: A list of those hon. and right hon. Members who, according to our records, have written to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister between 18 September 2003 and 18 June 2004 regarding the Government's rate relief scheme for small businesses, has been tabled as follows.
	
		Contacted by MPs—small business rate relief scheme
		
			 No. Name Letters 
		
		
			 1 The right hon. James Arbuthnot Esq. MP 1 
			 2 Ms Candy Atherton MP 2 
			 3 Richard Bacon Esq. MP 1 
			 4 Sir Paul Beresford Esq. MP 1 
			 5 Dr. Roger Berry Esq. MP 1 
			 6 The right hon. Mrs. Virginia Bottomley MP 1 
			 7 Graham Brady Esq. MP 1 
			 8 Mrs. Angela Browning MP 1 
			 9 Paul Burstow Esq. MP 1 
			 10 Mrs. Anne Campbell MP 2 
			 11 Mrs. Helen Clark MP 2 
			 12 Mrs. Ann Clwyd MP 1 
			 13 Timothy Collins Esq. CBE MP 1 
			 14 Ross Cranston Esq. QC MP 1 
			 15 Quentin Davies Esq. MP 1 
			 16 The right hon. John Denham Esq. MP 1 
			 17 David Drew Esq. MP 1 
			 18 Jonathan Djanogly Esq. MP 1 
			 19 Paul Farrelly Esq. MP 1 
			 20 Adrian Flook Esq. MP 1 
			 21 Edward Gamier Esq. QC MP 1 
			 22 Andrew George Esq. MP 1 
			 23 Dr. Ian Gibson Esq. MP 1 
			 24 Paul Goodman Esq. MP 1 
			 25 John Hayes Esq. MP 1 
			 26 Mrs. Sylvia Heal MP 1 
			 27 Oliver Heald Esq. MP 1 
			 28 David Heath Esq. CBE MP 2 
			 29 Ivan Henderson Esq. MP 1 
			 30 Mark Hoban Esq. MP 1 
			 31 John Horam Esq. MP 1 
			 32 The right hon. Michael Howard Esq. QC MP 2 
			 33 Brian Iddon Esq. MP 1 
			 34 Ms Glenda Jackson CBE MP 1 
			 35 Boris Johnson Esq. MP 1 
			 36 Robert Key Esq. MP 1 
			 37 Norman Lamb Esq. MP 1 
			 38 Dr. Julian Lewis Esq. MP 1 
			 39 Martin Linton Esq. MP 1 
			 40 Peter Luff Esq. MP 1 
			 41 The right hon. David Maclean Esq. MP 1 
			 42 Malcolm Moss Esq. MP 1 
			 43 Mark Oaten Esq. MP 1 
			 44 Stephen O'Brien Esq. MP 1 
			 45 George Osborne Esq. MP 1 
			 46 Terry Rooney Esq. MP 1 
			 47 Stephen Royce-Rogers Esq. MP 1 
			 48 Ms Christine Russell MP 1 
			 49 Robert Russell Esq. MP 2 
			 50 The right hon. Chris Smith Esq. MP 1 
			 51 The right hon. Sir John Stanley Esq. MP 1 
			 52 David Taylor Esq. MP 1 
			 53 Ian Taylor Esq. MBE MP 1 
			 54 The right hon. Michael Trend Esq. CBE MP 1 
			 55 Sir Nicholas R Winterton Esq. MP 1 
			 56 Ms Rosie Winterton MP 1 
			 57 Anthony D Wright Esq. MP 1 
			 58 The right hon. Sir George Young Esq. Bt MP 1 
		
	
	Note:
	This list only represents those members of Parliament indicated in the ODPMs records between September 2003 and June 2004.

Regional Chambers

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister 
	(1)  whether regional chambers are required to produce performance indicators for central Government;
	(2)  to what public service agreements and targets set by central Government regional chambers are subject;
	(3)  what offices outside the United Kingdom are maintained by regional chambers; and what the cost of maintaining each one was in the last financial year for which figures are available.

Nick Raynsford: Regional chambers are voluntary, independent bodies that have certain designated functions for which they receive Government grant support. They also receive funding from other sources, including the local authorities within their regions. As part of the condition for Government grant the chambers must produce an annual business plan. These set out their objectives and proposed outcomes relating to their responsibilities for scrutiny of the Regional Development Agencies, as the Regional Planning Body, advocacy of their region and the development of their strategic regional role. The business plans are submitted to the Government before funding agreements are issued to chambers for the relevant financial year.
	The chambers claim grant on a periodic basis and each claim must be accompanied by a report detailing the activities undertaken and outcomes achieved through the receipt of Government grant in the preceding period. They are not required to report against common performance indicators. Nor do they report performance against any public service agreements or targets.
	Each chamber makes a contribution with regional partners, including the regional development agency and regional local government association, towards an office outside the United Kingdom. Details of the cost incurred by each chamber are:
	
		
			 Chamber Location of Office or Representation Cost of Maintenance (£) Explanation of Cost Source of Funding 
		
		
			 East Brussels 321,740.00 Contribution to maintenance of office Non-ODPM funding 
			 East Midlands Brussels 5,000.00 Contribution to maintenance of joint office ODPM funding 
			 North East Brussels 94,700.00 Contribution to maintenance of joint office Non-ODPM funding 
			 North West Brussels 20,000.00 Contribution to maintenance of joint office Non-ODPM funding 
			 South East Brussels 37,050.00 Contribution to maintenance of joint office Non-ODPM funding 
			 South West Brussels (58)12,316.35 Contribution to maintenance of joint office ODPM funding 
			 West Midlands Brussels 6,051.00 Contribution to maintenance of joint office ODPM funding 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber Brussels 250,000.00 Contribution to maintenance of joint office Non-ODPM funding 
		
	
	(58) 2004–05.

Rent Arrears (London)

Tom Cox: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the current level of rent arrears is in each London local authority; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Hope: Estimated total arrears of council rents at 31 March 2004, as reported by each local authority in London, were as follows:
	
		£000
		
			  Rent arrears owed by: 
			 Local authority Current tenants Former tenants Total arrears 
		
		
			 Barking and Dagenham 2,232 465 2,697 
			 Barnet 956 1,020 1,975 
			 Brent 2,201 1,559 3,761 
			 Camden 3,583 2,049 5,632 
			 City of London 112 75 187 
			 Croydon 1,927 1,991 3,918 
			 Baling 3,681 3,953 7,634 
			 Enfield 2,187 980 3,167 
			 Greenwich 7,980 9,700 17,679 
			 Hackney 13,747 8,109 21,856 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 3,393 523 3,916 
			 Haringey 5,000 2,049 7,049 
			 Harrow 712 666 1,377 
			 Havering 883 780 1,662 
			 Hillingdon 1,806 688 2,494 
			 Hounslow 1,613 1,028 2,641 
			 Islington 9,847 7,602 17,449 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 1,467 1,020 2,486 
			 Kingston upon Thames 1,244 670 1,914 
			 Lambeth 12,551 3,719 16,270 
			 Lewisham 4,746 2,865 7,611 
			 Merton 673 315 988 
			 Newham 3,858 3,680 7,538 
			 Redbridge 712 455 1,168 
			 Southwark 14,343 3,067 17,410 
			 Sutton 1,207 810 2,017 
			 Tower Hamlets 2,306 2,209 4,515 
			 Waltham Forest 3,789 826 4,615 
			 Wandsworth 4,052 1,333 5,385 
			 Westminster 3,031 1,657 4,688 
			 Total 115,838 65,862 181,700 
		
	
	Note:
	Some of the totals do not appear to be the sum of the parts. This is because of rounding.
	Source:
	Unaudited figures from the "First Advance Claim Form 2004–5", which forms part of the "Entitlement to Housing Subsidies and Grants" survey that is administered by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.
	A 2003 Audit Commission report on local authority housing rental income found that the performance of rent arrears services had been judged by housing inspectors to be weak relative to other housing services. Based on these findings a number of recommendations have been put forward for improving the prevention and management of arrears:
	1. Local authorities should have clear, effective rent arrears strategies in place to prevent, manage and recover arrears.
	2. Where tenants are in financial difficulties or are vulnerable, authorities should consider a range of methods for preventing and dealing with arrears, before considering legal action to recover debts. These include access to information and support; debt counselling; liaison with housing benefits sections; and debt management plans to enable tenants to sustain their tenancies and repay their arrears.

Tenant Representation

Brian Iddon: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to the Audit Commission's report, 'Improving Services Through Resident Involvement', if he will recommend a change of policy on (a) tenants' membership of boards of arms length management organisations and large scale voluntary transfer associations and (b) stock transfer; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Raynsford: The Audit Commission's Report on 'Improving Services through Resident Involvement' provides clear evidence of the benefit that resident involvement can have on improving housing services. In the light of the recommendation made the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister will consider whether any changes are necessary to advice on and support for resident board membership in housing transfer registered social landlords and arms length management organisations.

Thames Gateway

Sydney Chapman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the (a) adequacy of and (b) consistency with the policy objectives set out in the Sustainable Communities Plan standard of architectural design in new housing developments in the Thames Gateway.

Keith Hill: New housing development in the Thames Gateway will be expected to comply with existing planning policies, as is the case for development elsewhere in the country. Planning Policy Guidance Note 1 (PPG1) on 'General Policy and Principles' requires that "good design should be the aim of all those involved in the development process and should be encouraged everywhere". This policy is supported by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's good practice guidance 'By Design' and 'Better Places to Live'. Planning Policy Guidance Note 3 (PPG3) on 'Housing' places a considerable emphasis on securing well-designed residential developments of the highest standard.
	High quality design is crucial to the delivery of sustainable communities. Projects that the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) is funding in the Thames Gateway have been selected against thematic objectives, one of which is "to implement a consistent policy of quality design". We have also increased funding for the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE), who launched the Growth Areas Housing Quality Forum in March 2004 to disseminate best practice on housing design. Major developments in the Thames Gateway, such as the Greenwich Millennium village, have already used urban design codes to provide certainty to developers and the community as to what constitutes acceptable design quality. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is in the process of identifying other potential sites in the Gateway to pilot further urban coding schemes.

Travel Costs

David Davis: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list the travel costs incurred by (a) his Department and its predecessors and (b) each Minister within his Department, for each of the last 10 years.

Phil Hope: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister was formed on 29 May 2002.
	(a) The travel and subsistence costs incurred by the Office of the Deputy Prime. Ministers (ODPM) employees in each financial year are as follows:
	
		
			  £000 
		
		
			 2002–03 4,313,010.44 
			 2003–04 4,928,250.91 
		
	
	(b) UK travel costs (air and rail fares) incurred by the ODPM Ministers since June 2002 to 31 March 2004 are as follows:
	
		
			  £000 
		
		
			 Deputy Prime Minister: 5,079.60 
			 Nick Raynsford: 4,860.90 
			 Lord Rooker: 2,276.10 
			 Chris Leslie: 2,537.90 
			 Phil Hope: 3,458.80 
			 Barbara Roche: 3,842.60 
			 Keith Hill: 1,078.80 
			 Tony McNulty: 5,775.00 
			 Yvette Cooper: 1,947.20 
		
	
	Information for earlier years in respect of both (a) and (b) could only be obtained at disproportionate cost and in some cases will no longer be held.
	In respect of overseas travel by Ministers, since 1999 the Government has published an annual list of all visits overseas undertaken by Cabinet Ministers costing £500 or more during each financial year. The Government has also published on an annual basis the cost of all Ministers' visits overseas. Copies of the lists are available in the Libraries of the House. These reports information reaching back to 1995–96. Information for earlier years could only be obtained at disproportionate cost and in some cases will no longer be held. Information for 2003–04 will be published in due course

Urban Capacity Studies

Sydney Chapman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister which local authorities in the Thames Gateway have completed an urban capacity study; when the most recent one in each local authority area was completed; and which of these studies were undertaken according to the best practice guidance set out in "Tapping the Potential", December 2000.

Keith Hill: Urban capacity studies for local authorities in the London part of the Thames Gateway have been undertaken as part of larger London-wide capacity work. The latest London-wide urban housing capacity study was undertaken by the London Planning Advisory Committee in 1997 and published by the GLA in 1999. The approach taken by the London Planning Advisory Committee in their study informed the methodology for urban capacity studies set out in the Planning Policy Guidance Note 3: "Tapping the Potential document".
	All four local authorities in the Kent part of the Thames Gateway are signed up to Kent County Council's protocol for producing urban capacity studies, which is in line with the methodology set out in Planning Policy Guidance Note 3. Gravesham Borough Council published their urban capacity study in 2000, Dartford Borough Council in 2002 and Swale Borough Council in 2003. Medway Council expect to complete their urban capacity study later this year.
	Each of the urban capacity studies carried out by local authorities in the Essex part of the Thames Gateway were undertaken in line with Planning Policy Guidance Note 3. Rochford Borough Council completed their urban capacity study in 2001, and plan to review this in the latter half of next year. Urban capacity studies for Southend-on-Sea Borough Council and Thurrock Council were completed in 2003. Both Basildon and Castlepoint completed urban capacity studies in 2004.

Urban District Councils

Bob Spink: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the current status of an urban district council in England is; and when this status changed.

Nick Raynsford: Urban district councils were abolished during the reorganisation of local government in 1974. The Local Government Act 1972 divided England into local authority areas called counties and districts. The areas of the former urban district councils became part of the new district council areas.

WALES

Consultant Episodes

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many finished consultant episodes there were in the NHS in Wales in each year since 1999, broken down by the local authority in which the patient resided.

Don Touhig: The information is in the following table:
	
		Finished consultant episodes (inpatients and daycases) 1
		
			 Unitary authority 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 
		
		
			 Isle of Anglesey 17,405 17,196 17,552 17,230 17,954 
			 Gwynedd 30,645 30,577 30,123 29,172 30,083 
			 Conwy 32,484 32,764 34,353 31,582 32,819 
			 Denbighshire 25,984 26,252 28,641 27,087 27,963 
			 Flintshire 34,011 35,231 36,321 35,134 35,475 
			 Wrexham 29,775 31,832 32,757 31,591 30,914 
			 Powys 27,428 28,479 28,223 26,609 26,026 
			 Ceredigion 15,398 16,428 15,926 15,408 15,400 
			 Pembrokeshire 29,269 30,454 31,908 28,803 28,640 
			 Carmarthenshire 44,282 44,687 44,764 40,015 42,973 
			 Swansea 56,049 57,792 56,306 55,372 59,141 
			 Neath Port Talbot 37,270 37,624 36,678 35,619 40,043 
			 Bridgend 35,593 35,776 35,908 35,486 34,677 
			 Vale of Glamorgan 27,453 28,135 26,664 25,564 28,333 
			 Cardiff 64,680 67,327 62,679 60,031 65,994 
			 Rhondda Cynon Taf 68,227 67,473 69,351 63,251 64,126 
			 Merthyr Tydfil 18,344 18,046 17,012 15,258 16,610 
			 Caerphilly 38,065 41,193 41,198 40,898 41,825 
			 Blaenau Gwent 19,724 20,085 18,769 17,938 17,845 
			 Torfaen 20,355 22,051 22,056 23,292 22,110 
			 Monmouthshire 18,210 19,457 19,106 18,712 18,736 
			 Newport 30,326 30,927 31,142 32,355 30,992 
			 Wales 720,977 739,786 737,437 706,407 728,679 
		
	
	(59) Welsh resident treated in England and Wales. Updates are sometimes received a considerable time after the period to which data refers and this can result in revisions to previously published figures.
	Source:
	Patient Episode Database for Wales

Hospital Waiting Lists

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what recent discussions he has had with his colleagues in the Welsh Assembly on hospital waiting lists in Wales.

Don Touhig: I regularly meet the National Assembly Health Minister to discuss matters of health and social care in Wales: our most recent meeting was on 16 June.
	The Assembly announced on 30 June that the 2nd Offer Scheme is to be extended to reduce the maximum waiting time for inpatient and day-case surgery in Wales to 12 months. This will mean that by 31 March 2005, there will be no one in Wales waiting over 12 months for surgery who has not been offered the opportunity of having their treatment.

Milford Haven

Lembit �pik: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the availability of equipment and personnel from the emergency services in the event of a major disaster at the proposed liquefied natural gas handling facility at Milford Haven; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what provision he has made for the development of an emergency disaster plan for the proposed liquefied natural gas handling facility at Milford Haven; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: I have been asked to reply.
	If the proposed liquefied natural gas handling facility goes ahead at Milford Haven, the development of an emergency disaster plan will be required.
	My Department will be involved in assessing the Emergency Disaster Plan once it has been agreed by the relevant parties, and it will need to be included in the site's Port Facility Security Plan, as stipulated by the International Maritime Organisation's International Ship and Port Security Code.

NHS Performance Criteria

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales on what main criteria he judges the performance of the NHS in Wales.

Don Touhig: The performance of NHS Wales is evaluated as part of the Performance Improvement Framework for NHS Wales.
	The balanced scorecard is a key component of the framework, giving all perspectives of performance equal weighting. Unlike previous systems which focused on finance and operations, this approach also includes assessment of how the NHS continuously improves and how effectively the needs of all stakeholders are met. Scorecards are produced on a quarterly basis and inform organisational performance reviews.
	In addition, key annual targets for NHS Wales are monitored on a monthly basis and where performance causes concern action is taken by regional offices.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Reducing CrimeChanging Lives

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what responses he has received to Reducing CrimeChanging Lives; and how many supported the principal proposals.

Paul Goggins: We have received a total 264 responses to the initial consultation on the National Offender Management Service.
	52 of these responses requested specific information or further copies of the consultation document. Of the responses that provided an opinion, over half offered general support for the new service.

Airguns

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the number of airguns which should have been licensed by 30 April but for which no application has been received;
	(2)  what discretion is available to the police to grant a licence to an individual who possessed an airgun prior to 30 April and subsequently makes an application; and in what circumstances that discretion may be exercised;
	(3)  how many late applications the police have received for air gun licences; and in how many cases (a) a licence has been granted and (b) the gun has been confiscated by the police and destroyed.

Caroline Flint: holding answer 21 June 2004
	We estimate that between 50,000 and 70,000 self-contained gas cartridge guns have been sold in the UK. Not all will still be in circulation but because they were not previously subject to control it is not possible to say how many might have been destroyed or otherwise disposed of before the new laws came into effect. I understand from the Association of Chief Police Officers that as at 30 April a total 5,791 guns had been entered on certificate and a further 1,524 had been surrendered for destruction. Separate information on the number of late applications is not available. It is for the police to determine in individual cases whether the circumstances warrant acceptance of a late application. Owners have already had over three months in which to either surrender their guns or apply for a certificate. Those who have failed to do so are committing an offence although the Association of Chief Police Officers have advised that where somebody voluntarily comes forward to surrender a gun which they have only just learned has been banned, it will often be sufficient to seize the gun and not to prosecute.

Amyl Nitrate

Huw Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures he proposes to take to tackle solvent abuse through the use of poppers containing amyl nitrate, with particular reference to the products (a) Liquid Gold, (b) Pure Gold and (c) TNT.

Caroline Flint: None. The alkyl nitrites (poppers) are not controlled under the misuse of drugs legislation. The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs has considered whether they should be controlled and concluded that they did not give rise to a social problem justifying their control under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. The substances Liquid Gold, Pure Gold and TNT are all brands of poppers. They are not solvents but are controlled under the Medicines Act 1968.

Animal Research

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his answer of 14 May 2004, Official Report, column 603W, on animal research, what discussions Ministers have had since 1999 to ensure that businesses and individuals can carry on working without interference from animal rights protesters; and on what dates these discussions took place.

Caroline Flint: holding answer 19 July 2004
	Under exemption 2 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information it is Government policy that information relating to internal meetings is not disclosed.

Anti-drugs Co-ordinator

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what (a) the cost of recruitment and (b) the total cumulative salary bill of the UK Anti-drugs Coordinator is.

Caroline Flint: holding answer 16 July 2004
	Following the general election in 2001, the Home Secretary took over lead responsibility for driving forward delivery of the UK Drug Strategy.
	Within the Home Office, the Home Secretary is supported in this role at official level by the Drug Strategy Directorate, led by Vie Hogg.

Asylum Seekers

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what conditions have been placed within his Department's contract with Reliance Monitoring Service to provide a system for tagging persons seeking asylum in relation to (a) the monitoring of families and (b) the monitoring of people under the age of 18 years.

Des Browne: Clause 36 of the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants etc) Bill provides the legislative authority for electronic monitoring within the immigration context. Tagging is likely to be appropriate for those who would otherwise have been detained and will, therefore, be used as an alternative to detention.
	A number of factors are taken into consideration when assessing the risk of a family absconding. These may result in one or both of the parents being subject to electronic monitoring.
	Electronic Monitoring for immigration purposes will only be available to those who are 18 years of age and over.

Botox Toxicity

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent research he has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on the (i) accuracy and (ii) reproducibility of in vitro tests for botox toxicity; and if he will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: The Home Office has not commissioned research of the kind described, but it has provided funds for three projects aimed at trying to develop and evaluate alternatives to using animals in this type of testing. Further details are in the Reports of the Animal Procedures Committee for the years 1996, 1997, and 2002, copies of which are available in the House Library. In addition the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Inspectorate considers and advises on progress made in this field.

Botulinium

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many licences were issued for the animal testing of botulinium toxin in each year since 1997; how many animals were involved, broken down by (a) breed and (b) type; and how much toxin was involved in each case.

Caroline Flint: A survey of currently held data indicates that 10 project licences have been granted since 1997 under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, authorising the use of animals in research and testing involving botulinum toxin. The figures are:
	
		
			  Number of project licences issued 
		
		
			 1997 1 
			 1998 1 
			 1999 1 
			 200001 0 
			 2002 4 
			 2003 2 
			 2004 (To date) 1 
		
	
	The licensed work has covered safety testing of the toxin for clinical use, research and development as regards possible new clinical applications, research into alternative methods of testing, and forensic food safety checks. None has been connected with publicised use of the substance for non-medical cosmetic purposes.
	The animals used for clinical purpose safety testing in 2002 are a subset of those reported at column 1 of table 15 in the publication entitled Statistics of Scientific Procedures on Living Animals in Great Britain 2002 (Command 5886, available in the House Library). This relates to all protected animals used in safety testing of pharmaceuticalsthose used for testing botulinum toxin are not identified separately. Although all the testing is undertaken using rodent species, the precise details of the numbers, breed and type are not collated centrally. This is also the case as regards earlier years.
	The amount of toxin used varies between testing programmes and studies, but licence authorities mandate only the use of the minimum intended to achieve the scientific objective.

Bribery/Corruption

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what procedures the National Criminal Intelligence Service employs to grade allegations of overseas bribery held on the national register; and how many allegations in each grade are held on the NCIS register.

Caroline Flint: Upon receipt of all allegations, research is made and, if appropriate, sent to the relevant investigation authority.
	Allegations are not graded as all are of a serious nature and should there be a prima facie case, which falls within this legislation, further investigation will always be made.

Cannabis

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what studies his Department has (a) commissioned and (b) received regarding the use of cannabis since its reclassification took place; and if he will place a copy of these studies in the Library.

Caroline Flint: holding answer 16 July 2004
	The British Crime Survey provides annual updates on drug use. The Home Office is working closely with police forces to monitor the policing of drug offences since cannabis was reclassified and early figures are encouraging. As more robust data become available, a more thorough assessment of the impact of reclassification will be undertaken.

Careless Driving

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make it his policy to introduce an offence of causing death by careless driving.

Caroline Flint: holding answer 20 July 2004
	The Government are reviewing the existing framework of the criminal law concerning bad driving, particularly where death or injury results, in order to ensure that appropriate offences and penalties are put in place. Any comprehensive review of this area of the law must examine the adequacy of the law relating to fatalities that occur as a result of careless driving. We will publish a consultation paper detailing our proposals as soon as possible.

Carter Report

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the terms of reference were for the Carter report.

Paul Goggins: As set out in the report, Managing OffendersReducing Crime, the terms of reference for the Correctional Services Review were to establish a credible and effective system for the correctional services that focused on reducing crime and maintaining public confidence, whilst remaining affordable.

Carter Report

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which of the recommendations from the Carter Report have been implemented.

Paul Goggins: The Carter Report 'Managing OffendersReducing Crime' a copy of which was placed in the Library on 6 January 2004 was welcomed by Ministers at the time of its publication. The Government response was published on the same date. Much work has been done since to take forward the recommendations made, particularly those involving the development of a single National Offender Management Service.

Carter Report

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the external consultants who contributed to Patrick Carter's review of the correctional services; and how much they were paid in each case.

Paul Goggins: External consultants were engaged by the Cabinet Office at a cost of 33,378 to carry out a high level review of the non-operating costs incurred by the correctional services.

Child Trafficking

Sally Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many unaccompanied minors entered the UK in each of the last five years for which figures are available, broken down by country of origin.

Des Browne: The requested information on the number of unaccompanied children entering the UK in each year is not available.
	The available information on applications for asylum from unaccompanied children is given in the table.
	Information on asylum applications from unaccompanied minors is published in quarterly web pages and in the annual statistical bulletin 'Asylum Statistics United Kingdom'. Copies of these publications and others relating to general immigration to the UK are available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office Research Development and Statistics Directorate website at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html.
	
		Unaccompanied 1,2,3 children, aged 17 or under, applying for asylum in the United Kingdom, by nationality, 1999 to 2003
		
			 Nationality 1999 4 2000 4 2001 4 2002 5,6 2003 6 
		
		
			 Albania 125 95 85 300 145 
			 Czech Republic 30 20 20 10  
			 Macedonia   100 110 55 
			 Moldova * 5 35 145 5 
			 Poland 45 15 25 10 60 
			 Romania 85 40 50 130 5 
			 Russia 5 * 5 10 170 
			 SAM 1,520 665 475 725 15 
			 Turkey 115 155 95 85 85 
			 Ukraine * 5 * 5 5 
			 Other Former US 25 20 10 10 5 
			 Other Former Yug 30 35 80 5 * 
			 Europe other 10 5   * 
			 Europe total 1,995 1,055 985 1,545 560 
			 Colombia 20 5 5 5 5 
			 Ecuador 15 5 5 5 5 
			 Jamaica 5 5 * 15 5 
			 Americas other 5 * 5  5 
			 Americas total 40 15 20 30 15 
			 Algeria 10 25 20 40 20 
			 Angola 40 100 145 210 115 
			 Burundi 10 20 20 30 60 
			 Cameroon  5 20 30 20 
			 Congo 5 10 30 25 15 
			 Dem. Rep. Congo 35 45 80 145 95 
			 Eritrea 95 65 110 220 125 
			 Ethiopia 55 60 140 140 100 
			 Gambia   * 5 5 
			 Ghana * 10 5 5 5 
			 Ivory Coast  5 5 5 10 
			 Kenya 10 10 15 30 25 
			 Nigeria 45 25 35 55 35 
			 Rwanda 35 50 40 65 20 
			 Sierra Leone 65 75 130 110 35 
			 Somalia 190 175 200 345 255 
			 Sudan 5 10 5 15 30 
			 Tanzania * 5 * 5 5 
			 Uganda 10 25 45 105 125 
			 Zimbabwe 5 35 35 90 10 
			 Africa other 10 25 25 70 105 
			 Africa total 630 800 1,115 1,745 1,225 
			 Iran 15 65 25 50 65 
			 Iraq 60 110 180 1,310 220 
			 Middle East other 15 15 20 50 30 
			 Middle East total 90 190 225 1,410 310 
			 Afghanistan 215 300 675 720 235 
			 Bangladesh 5 5 15 60 50 
			 China 165 115 135 260 145 
			 India 15 15 20 60 60 
			 Pakistan 20 25 25 40 45 
			 Sri Lanka 125 170 140 125 15 
			 Vietnam 5 20 90 180 125 
			 Asia other 5 5 5 15 10 
			 Asia total 550 655 1,100 1,460 685 
			 Nationality not known 40 20 25 5 5 
			 Grand total 3,350 2,735 3,470 6,200 2,800 
		
	
	(60) Figures rounded to the nearest 5 with *=1 or 2
	(61) Unaccompanied at point of arrival, aged (or if no proof) determined to be 17 or under and not known to be joining a relative or guardian in the United Kingdom.
	(62) Figures exclude disputed age cases.
	(63) May excluded some cases lodged at Local Enforcement Offices.
	(64) Not comparable with manual counts data prior to 2002.
	(65) Provisional figures.

Civil Service Recruitment

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the effects of cuts in civil servants will be on his Department.

Fiona Mactaggart: As my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer, announced on 14 July, the size of the Home Office will be reduced by 2,700 people.

Community Sentences

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how he intends to improve the information received by magistrates regarding prison alternatives.

Paul Goggins: The National Probation Service has put in place a number of measures to improve the information provided to magistrates on prison alternatives. These include the provision of: a sentencer communications strategy and a sentencer liaison officer in all areas; national and local information about the work of the service; leaflets about the content of successful schemes and programmes attached to pre-sentence reports; and videos on the content of community interventions and the 'what works' initiative.
	As the new National Offender Management Service is taken forward we intend to strengthen the liaison arrangements between sentencers and the prison and probation services.
	The new Sentencing Guidelines Council will also have a role in providing information to sentencers, for example about sentencing patterns, which will inform discussions at a local level. The council will have key role in re-balancing the system to make better use of resources. In framing sentencing guidelines, the council must, among other things, take account of the cost of different sentences and their relative effectiveness in preventing re-offending. One of its earliest priorities is to produce a guideline on the new generic community sentence.

Computer Misuse

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases of computer misuse there were in his Department in (a) 1997 and (b) 2003, broken down by category of misuse; and how many of those cases resulted in disciplinary action.

Fiona Mactaggart: The figures, so far as information is available in the form requested, are as follows:
	
		Cases of computer misuse
		
			 Area 1997 2003 
		
		
			 Core Home Office, including IND   
			 Sending inappropriate email (66) 18 
			 Accessing inappropriate sites (66) 4 
			
			 Prison Service Agency   
			 Sending inappropriate email (66) 2 
			 Accessing inappropriate sites (66) (66) 
			
			 UK Passport Agency   
			 Sending inappropriate emails (66) 15 
			 Accessing inappropriate sites (66) (66) 
			
			 Forensic Science Service   
			 Sending inappropriate emails (66) 1 
			 Accessing inappropriate sites (66) (66) 
		
	
	(66) Indicates that no comprehensive figures available.

Constitutional Treaty

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what research his Department has commissioned on the possible (a) impact and (b) cost that may follow from the adoption of the proposed European Union constitution, in relation to criminal matters.

Caroline Flint: The Government carried out detailed examination of all proposals in the field of criminal justice with regard to their potential impact, prior to agreement on the Constitutional Treaty. The Government have not commissioned separate research in this area following agreement on the text of the Constitutional Treaty.

Contracted Prisons

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the Prison Service annual report for 200304 will contain statistical data on the performance of contracted prisons against key performance indicators; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Goggins: The Prison Service is no longer responsible for the performance of contracted prisons and so the Service's Annual Report does not contain data on the performance of these prisons. The aggregate performance of all prisons in England and Wales, and details of the performance of contracted prison estate are set out in the written ministerial statement I made on 15 July. Details of the performance of individual establishments will be published at a later date.

Conviction Data Systems

Debra Shipley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he plans to take to develop IT systems that can share conviction and non-conviction data across police forces in England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Paul Goggins: As part of current arrangements Scottish conviction records are uploaded automatically to the Police National Computer (PNC) in England and Wales through the Scottish Criminal Records Office. The Police Service in Northern Ireland has PNC, which provides them with 24-hour access to the service.
	As part of the important work for implementing the recommendations of the Bichard Inquiry we will look to resolve the issue of sharing Intelligence non-conviction data between the 43 forces in England and Wales as well as with Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Correspondence

Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will reply to the letter of 5 July from the hon. Member for Liverpool, Riverside relating to entry to the UK of Dr. Yusuf Ali Qaradawi; and what investigations were conducted in advance of his entry to the UK.

Fiona Mactaggart: holding answer 16 July 2004
	I wrote to my hon. Friend on 21 July 2004.
	My hon. Friend also asks what investigations were conducted in advance of Dr. Qaradawi's entry to the United Kingdom: I am withholding that information under exemption 5 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.
	It is not our practice to disclose details of individual entry clearance cases in a public forum.

Correspondence

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will reply to the letter from the hon. Member for the Isle of Wight dated 25 May concerning the National Offender Management Service.

Paul Goggins: holding answer 1 July 2004
	I replied to the hon. Member on 7 July 2004.

Correspondence

Michael Spicer: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the hon. Member for West Worcestershire will receive a response to his letter of 15 April (Ref: M480/4).

Des Browne: holding answer 8 July 2004
	I wrote to the hon. Member on 22 July 2004.

Crime Solving

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many crimes in (a) Merseyside, (b) Lancashire, (c) Cheshire, (d) Cumbria and (e) Greater Manchester have involved (i) the Forensic Science Service and (ii) a private company in their solution in each of the last 12 months.

Caroline Flint: From the data recorded by these police forces it is not possible to identify how many crimes involved use of forensic science in their solution. The best indicator of the relative use of (i) the Forensic Science Service (FSS) and (ii) private sector forensic science providers is the number of submissions made by the five named forces to each of these within the last 12 months.
	(a) For Merseyside police forensic submissions during the year 1 April 2003 to 31 March 2004 were as follows:
	
		
			  Forensic provider 
			  (i) FSS (ii) Private companies 
		
		
			 April 69 344 
			 May 65 418 
			 June 96 377 
			 July 93 367 
			 August 73 376 
			 September 100 391 
			 October 96 311 
			 November 77 318 
			 December 64 252 
			 January 77 311 
			 February 73 268 
			 March 60 289 
		
	
	Differences in the level of detail to which data on submissions for forensic analysis is recorded by police forces prevents similar presentation of figures for the remaining forces. The data recorded by these forces indicate:
	(b) For Lancashire Constabulary forensic submissions during the year 1 April 2003 to 31 March 2004 were as follows:
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 April 419 
			 May 342 
			 June 398 
			 July 389 
			 August 389 
			 September 355 
			 October 355 
			 November 359 
			 December 372 
			 January 421 
			 February 371 
			 March 432 
		
	
	Lancashire Constabulary was unable to report how many of these submissions were made to(i) the Forensic Science Service (FSS) and (ii) private sector forensic science providers.
	(c) For Cheshire Constabulary forensic submissions during the year 1 April 2003 to 31 March 2004 were as follows:
	(i) FSS: 525
	(ii) Private companies: 609.
	Cheshire Constabulary was unable to provide a monthly breakdown of these figures.
	(d) For Cumbria Constabulary the number of submission for DNA analysis reflects is related to the level of volume crime, the predominant category of crime in Cumbria. These submissions were all made to the FSS:
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 April 26 
			 May 28 
			 June 37 
			 July 20 
			 August 18 
			 September 41 
			 October 30 
			 November 11 
			 December 17 
			 January 18 
			 February 23 
			 March 32 
		
	
	(e) For Greater Manchester Police forensic submissions during the year 1 April 2003 to 31 March 2004 were as follows:
	(i) FSS: 8,392
	(ii) Private companies: 135.
	GMP was unable to provide a monthly breakdown of these figures.

Criminal Cases Review Commission

Mike Wood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases have been considered by the Criminal Cases Review Commission since its inception; and how many are awaiting determination.

Paul Goggins: At 31 May 2004 the Criminal Cases Review Commission had received 6,798 applications of which 638 had yet to be determined. Further detail is available on the Commission's website at www. ccrc.gov.uk.

CS Gas

Mike Wood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the use of CS gas spray by police forces in England and Wales.

Caroline Flint: CS incapacitant spray has been available to police forces in England and Wales since 1996. Currently out of 43 police forces, 40 are using CS incapacitant spray as an item of self-defence equipment.

Departmental Accounting Practice

Richard Bacon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department who the Finance Director of the (a) Department, (b) Probation Service, (c) Charity Commission and (d) Assets Recovery Agency is; what accountancy qualifications each Director holds; and on how many occasions there has been a qualified opinion on (i) the resource accounts and (ii) other accounts of each in the last five years.

Fiona Mactaggart: The information requested, is shown in the table.
	
		
			  Finance Director Accountancy qualifications held 
		
		
			 (a) Home Office William Nye  
			 (b) Probation Service Ray McBurney Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants 
			 (c) Charity Commission Nick Allaway Member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants 
			 (d) Assets Recovery Agency Ivor Jamison Member of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accounting 
		
	
	In respect of Departmental Accounts, the audit opinion has been given on the accounts for the periods requested. Of the Departments requested the Probation Service is a part of the Home Office while the Asset Recovery Agency and the Charities Commission are non-Ministerial Departments. The Asset Recovery Agency has only recently been created and no accounts are yet available. Audit opinion for the Department and for the Charities Commission are given in the Table:
	
		
			  Financial year   National Audit Office opinion: The Home Office National Audit Office opinion: The Charities Commission 
		
		
			 19992000 Disclaimed Unqualified 
			 200001 Qualified Unqualified 
			 200102 Qualified Qualified 
			 200203 Unqualified as true and fair, but qualified arising from an expenditure in excess of amounts authorised for Request for Resource 2 Unqualified 
			 200304 Resource Accounts not yet auditedan opinion will not be available until later in the year Unqualified

Departmental Buildings

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the total floor space area of buildings owned or leased by (a) his Department and (b) his agencies has been in each year since 1997.

Fiona Mactaggart: The non-agency part of the Home Office currently occupies 274,693 sq m of freehold space and 498,664 sq m of rented space. The Department's Executive Agencies occupy 4,188,012 sq m of freehold space and 69,256 sq m of rented space. Together these comprise offices, prisons and other specialised accommodation.
	The figures exclude residential properties, premises that are not rented but taken under service agreements and those where costs are shared with other Government Departments who pay the rent.

Departmental Expenditure

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost was of satellite and cable subscriptions in his Department's buildings in the last year for which figures are available; and if he will list the premium channels that his Department subscribes to.

Fiona Mactaggart: holding answer 20 July 2004
	Figures for all the Department's buildings are not held centrally. The subscription for cable for the Home Office HQ for 200405 will be 20,609.67 plus VAT. No premium channels are subscribed to. This is to ensure access to full range of news and current affairs channels.

Departmental Expenditure

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost was of running the canteen facilities of his Department in (a) 199697 and (b) the latest year for which figures are available.

Fiona Mactaggart: holding answer 16 July 2004
	Information on the level of the subsidy for canteen facilities in the Department's main central London buildings in 199697 is not available. The subsidy paid in 200203 was 180,000.

Departmental Mobile Phones

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many mobile phones owned by his Department were reported lost or stolen since 2001.

Fiona Mactaggart: Only one item is showing on the Losses Register since 2001.

Departmental Refurbishment

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost has been of refurbishments to the fabric of buildings owned by his Department since May 1997.

Fiona Mactaggart: holding answer 16 July 2004
	I refer the right hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Meirionnydd Nant Conwy (Mr. Llwyd) on 24 May 2004, Official Report, column 1409W.

Direct Communications Unit

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what work is undertaken by the Direct Communications Unit at his Department; and if he will make a statement.

Fiona Mactaggart: The Direct Communications Unit consists of two sectionsa Customer Communications Service and a Resource and Planning Section.
	The Customer Communications Service consists of 72 staff and is responsible for a wide range of work in the area of customer communications. They provide:
	A Front of House (reception) service at the Home Office's HQ building;
	A public inquiry telephone service
	Management and co-ordination of the production of replies to ministerial correspondence across the Home Office group, excluding agencies
	Management and co-ordination of the production of replies to public correspondence, including emails, across the Home Office group, excluding agencies, HMPS and the Immigration and Nationality Department
	Management of responses to requests for publications
	Support for the Home Office's internal Directory of Business
	Internal communications relating to correspondence performance and management
	User support for, and management of the ongoing development of, the Correspondence Tracking System introduced last year
	Support, management and development of the Correspondence Tracking System's Management Information System, and production of performance and management data.
	The Resource and Planning Section consists of 16 staff, and provides a full range of business support services for the Communication Directorate, of which Direct Communications Unit is one part. The services provided include finance and budget management, procurement, business planning, risk management, accommodation support, business continuity planning, and human resources management.

Direct Communications Unit

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what work is undertaken by the Public Contact Section of the Direct Communications Unit in his Department, broken down by policy areas covered; and how many (a) letters and (b) phone calls it has received each year since its creation, broken down by policy area.

Fiona Mactaggart: The Direct Communications Unit (DCU) was created on 1 September 2001.
	The Public Contact Teams undertake the following work for all areas of the Home Office Group excluding Agencies:
	Answering telephone calls from the public (other than on matters relating to HM Prison Service and Immigration and Nationality Department)
	Front of House (Reception) Service at the Home Office headquarters building
	The Correspondence Teams undertake the following work for all areas of the Home Office Group excluding Agencies:
	Co-ordinating the provision of replies to correspondence from Members (and members of the House of Lords) addressed to Ministers
	MP's hotline (for inquiries about correspondence from Members to Ministers)
	Co-ordinating the provision of replies to correspondence from members of the public (not Her Majesty's Prison Service (HMPS) or the Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND)
	(a) The volume of letters received is given in the tables.
	
		Volume of Ministerial letters(67) handled by DCU
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 1 September to 31 December 2001 5,619 
			 1 January to 31 December 2002 27,320 
			 1 January to 31 December 2003 21,735 
			 1 January to 31 May 2004 9,508 
		
	
	(67) Excludes agencies other than HMPS
	
		Volume of letters(68) from the public handled by DCU
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 1 September to 31 December 2001 12,695 
			 1 January to 31 December 2002 43,886 
			 1 January to 31 December 2003 22,074 
			 1 January to 30 April 2004 5,846 
		
	
	(68) Excludes correspondence on IND and HMPS matters and since 1 July 2003 campaign correspondence i.e. that where 50 or more identical items are received.
	The computerised Correspondence Tracking System was introduced for Ministerial Correspondence on 1 April 2003. A breakdown by policy area is available only from that date and is shown in the table.
	
		Ministerial correspondence handled by DCU, broken down by policy area
		
			 Policy area 1 April to 31 December 2003 1 January to 31 May 2004 
		
		
			 IND 9007 5301 
			 HMPS 661 426 
			 Correctional Services 362 327 
			 Human Resources 0 4 
			 Crime Reduction and Community  Safety Group 2,423 1,422 
			 Community Policy 937 553 
			 Criminal Justice Group 810 447 
			 Reply drafted by DCUno policy  unit identified 1,465 1,028 
		
	
	Letters from members of the public (other than campaigns, HMPS and IND) were included on the Correspondence Tracking System from 1 July 2003. A breakdown by policy area is available only from that date and is shown in the following table.
	
		Correspondence from members of the public handled by DCU, broken down by policy area
		
			 Policy area 1 July to 31 December 2003 1 January to 30 April 2004 
		
		
			 Correctional Services 317 738 
			 Crime Reduction and Community  Safety Group 2,820 2,570 
			 Community Policy 1,024 618 
			 Criminal Justice Group 319 264 
			 Reply drafted by DCUno policy  unit identified 3,207 1,656 
		
	
	The figures in the table do not include approximately 70,000 emails p.a. which are also handled by DCU. The handling of emails has only recently been transferred onto the Correspondence Tracking System, and data on distribution across policy areas are not yet available.
	(b) The volume of telephone calls received from the public is given in the table. No breakdown by policy area is available.
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 1 September to 31 October 2001(69) 9,914 
			 1 January to 31 December 2002 70,320 
			 1 January to 31 December 2003 70,352 
			 1 January to 30 June 2004 33,416 
		
	
	(69) Data for November and December 2001 is not held

Driving Disqualification/Offences

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were disqualified from driving in England and Wales in (a) 2002 and (b) 2003 under section 35 of the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988.

Caroline Flint: holding answer 16 July 2004
	The number of people disqualified at all courts in England and Wales as a result of 'totting up' of points on their driving licence under s.35 of the Road Traffic offenders Act 1988 is 30, 498 for the year 2002.
	Data for 2003 will not be available until the autumn.

Driving Disqualification/Offences

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) prosecutions were brought against and (b) cautions were given to drivers on motorways in the last 24 months for (i) speeding and (ii) non-speeding offences.

Caroline Flint: Information collected centrally on prosecutions for speeding and other road traffic offences does not distinguish the type of road on which the offence took place.
	The available information for the year 2002 showing the total number of fixed penalties, written warnings issued and court proceedings in England and Wales for Motorway offences (other than speeding) under the Road Traffic Regulations Act 1984 s. 17(4) and Motorways Traffic (England and Wales) Regulations 1982 Regs. 512 and 14 are given in the table.
	Data for 2003 will not be available until the autumn.
	
		Motorway offences(70)(other than speeding) by type of police action, England and Wales, 2002
		
			 Type of action Number of offences 
		
		
			 Total Court proceedings 2,947 
			 Fixed penalty notices issued 5, 292 
			 Written warnings issued 354 
			 Total 8,593 
		
	
	(70) Offences under s. 17(4) of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 and Motorways Traffic (England and Wales) Regulations 1982.

Drug/Alcohol Treatment

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what funding is available for drug addiction treatment of prisoners and ex-prisoners over the next five years (a) in Leeds and (b) in total.

Paul Goggins: It is not possible to differentiate between funding provided to treat ex-prisoners and others who access treatment in the community.
	Table 1 shows the amount of funding available for all forms of drug treatment for prisons in the Leeds area. Funding is allocated on an annual basis, and therefore the figures for prisons in the Leeds area are provided only for 200405.
	
		Table 1: Drug treatment funding in prisons in the Leeds area, 200405
		
			 Prison Funding () 
		
		
			 Leeds 1,200,000 
			 Wealstun 332,000 
			 Wetherby 118,000 
		
	
	Table 2 shows the total funding for drug treatment in adult prisons and juvenile establishments until March 2006, which is the latest date for which funding decisions have been taken.
	
		Table 2: Total drug treatment in adult prisons and juvenile establishments until March 2006 1 -- 
		
			  200405 200506 
		
		
			 Prison Service(72) 44,900,000 52,400,000 
			 Department of Health 3,900,000 3,900,000 
			 Youth Justice Board(73) 10,000,000 10,000,000 
			 Total 58,800,000 66,300,000 
		
	
	(71) These are ring-fenced funds, made available from spending reviews since 199798.
	(72) This figure includes 5,000,000 from the Home Office for the CJIP initiative.
	(73) The YJB funding shown includes funding for secure training centres and local authority secure children's homes. The allocation for Juvenile Prisons are as follows:
	200405: 2,500,000
	200506: 3,200,000
	Note:
	All funding is projected and therefore still subject to negotiation. The remaining four years will be determined by further allocations made from SR2004.

Drug/Alcohol Treatment

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will take steps to ensure that sufficient funds are made available for treatment programmes for all young people convicted of drug and alcohol offences.

Caroline Flint: Early identification of substance misuse problems and the provision of appropriate early intervention and treatment for young offenders is a key element of the young people's strand of the National Drug Strategy.
	The Young People's Substance Misuse Grant brings together a number of funding streams which total 59 million for the development of young people's substance misuse services, alongside mainstream resources by Drug Action Teams.
	Over 18 million of the Young People's Partnership Grant is currently invested in the provision of specialist young people's drug treatment services.
	30 million has been made available over three years for the development of an Integrated Substance Misuse Programme for the Secure EstateYoung Offenders Institutes, Secure Training Centres and Local Authority Secure Children's Homes.
	As part of this programme of work Youth Offending Teams screen all young offenders and provide early intervention and/or onward referral to specialist young people's drug treatment services.

Drug/Alcohol Treatment

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether drug testing on charge is in place in Crosby.

Caroline Flint: Drug testing of persons in police detention (after charge) is not currently available in Crosby.

Drug/Alcohol Treatment

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to require prisons to record the proportion of prisoners who complete drug treatment following detoxification.

Paul Goggins: There are currently no plans to require prisons to record the proportion of prisoners who complete drug treatment following detoxification.

Drug/Alcohol Treatment

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the effectiveness of drug treatment programmes within prisons.

Paul Goggins: Due to the need to wait two years for reconviction results, only a limited research base is so far available on the effectiveness of prison-based drug rehabilitation programmes in reducing re-offending.
	Emerging research into the RAPt 1 programme is showing encouraging results, with 40 per cent. of graduates, rather than an expected 51 per cent., re-offending within two years. However, such results can only be achieved where effective through-care arrangements are made and timely after-care services are available in the community.
	1 RAPtRehabilitation of Addicted Prisoners Trust.

Drug/Alcohol Treatment

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of people receiving drug treatment while in prison were offered aftercare on their release in each year since 1997.

Paul Goggins: Data are not collected centrally on those people that receive drug treatment in prison and who are subsequently offered aftercare on release.

Drugs

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make it his policy to ensure that recreational drugs remain illegal; and if he will encourage police to prosecute criminals who supply such drugs.

Caroline Flint: The Government have no intention of legalising any currently controlled drug. The Government takes the supply and possession of illegal drugs very seriously. We work closely with the police to focus more effectively to disrupt the drug supply chain at all levels and prosecute offenders. The Drugs Strategy makes clear our priority is to tackle Class A drug supply offences. The Strategy is supported by the police as we all recognise that Class A drugs do most harm to individuals and to communities.

Electronic Tagging

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many criminals were released in Essex with electronic tags in each year since tagging was introduced.

Paul Goggins: The area in which electronically tagged prisoners reside upon release is not recorded centrally.
	The number of prisoners released on the Home Detention Curfew Scheme (HOC) from HMP Bullwood Hall and HMP Chelmsford in each year since the scheme began, and to 31 May 2004, is provided in the table.
	
		Prisoners released on the HOC scheme from Essex prisons, by year of release
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 1999 121 
			 2000 150 
			 2001 142 
			 2002 316 
			 2003 278 
			 2004 58

Employment Tribunals

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases against his Department, the agencies for which it is responsible and its predecessor organisations have been brought to employment tribunals in each year since 1997 in relation to (a) equal pay, (b) sex discrimination, (c) race discrimination, (d) disability discrimination and (e) unfair dismissal; how many cost awards were made against (i) respondents and (ii) applicants; and how much has been spent (A) settling and (B) contesting claims.

Fiona Mactaggart: The information requested is not available and could be collected only at disproportionate cost.

Energy Efficiency

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on energy efficiency in his Department's buildings.

Fiona Mactaggart: The Home Office continues to improve the energy efficiency of its buildings. It is addressing the Government's target of increasing the energy efficiency on its estate in terms of kWh used per square metre of building floor area by 15 per cent. by 201011, relative to 19992000.
	The Department actively improves the energy efficiency of its estate. A switch off campaign is currently in progress across the Central London and Croydon estates, which encourages staff to switch off lights and computer equipment when not in use. There is a contractual requirement to achieve energy consumption at least 10 per cent. below the targets in the Government's energy efficient best practice programme energy consumption guide at the Department's new headquarters building at 2 Marsham street. In September 2003, The Prison Service was re-accredited under the National Energy Foundation's scheme for energy efficiency.

Environmental Sustainability

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what steps he is taking to ensure that private finance initiative projects for which his Department is responsible create the minimum of environmental damage;
	(2)  what assessment his Department has made of (a) the sustainability of environmental impacts of private finance initiative projects and (b) the capacity of the PFI process to deliver environmentally sustainable projects;
	(3)  what plans he has to make private finance initiative contracts more accountable and transparent in terms of environmental sustainability.

Fiona Mactaggart: Guidance for Departments on how to include environmental considerations within PFI and PPP projects is set out in Green Public Private Partnerships, issued in 2002. A memorandum of understanding, signed by the Home Office Green Minister and the Director General of the Prison Service, requires all new prisons (including those constructed under PFI) to introduce a sustainable development policy and to be managed in an environmentally sound way.
	Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) certificates are obtained for major new buildings. The new Home Office in 2 Marsham Street received the BREEAM excellent level certification of its design in June 2004. Excellent is the highest category certification. Once operational it will be managed under an accredited environmental management system.
	The Home Office is committed to the targets set out in the Framework for Sustainable Development on the Government Estate. The biodiversity, energy and waste sections of the framework require Departments to include clauses relating to sustainable development issues in relevant contracts, including PFIs. Future sections of the framework are likely to include similar provisions on other environmental issues.
	From 1 April 2004 all Departments have been required to explicitly identify any significant environmental and social costs and benefits when carrying out a Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA). This will cover RIAs carried out on new PFI/PPP projects.

Environmental Sustainability

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what parts of his Department's estate will not be covered by the commitments set out in the Framework for Sustainable Development on the Government Estate.

Fiona Mactaggart: As set out in the departmental website statement of September 2002 the sites not covered by the commitments set out in the Framework for Sustainable Development on the Government Estate are those where one of the following apply: (a) the Department is not the major occupier, (b) the floor area of the site is less than 1,000 sq m or (c) the site has less than 50 staff.
	This accounts for some, 150 office sites in the main Home Office, some 850 probation office sites, approximately 10 non-operational Prison Service establishments or premises and one UK Passport Agency site.

Environmental Sustainability

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps have been taken by his Department to review arrangements for public reporting for sustainable development impacts.

Fiona Mactaggart: The Department has developed a series of departmental sustainable development indicators, which monitor and record progress. These are published on the Home Office website and can be found at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/docs2/susdevindicators.html. The Home Office also reports sustainable development progress in the Home Office annual report and through the annual Sustainable Development in Government reports. Prison Service progress is covered by its own dedicated sustainable development report.

Environmental Sustainability

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what changes there have been in (a) road transport vehicle carbon dioxide emissions and (b) single occupancy car commuting from his Department against the baseline year in the framework for Sustainable Development on the Government Estate.

Fiona Mactaggart: The Home Office collected baseline data for business mileage in 200203 which showed that staff travelled 12,908,999 miles. Data for 200304 has not been collated yet. In an effort to reduce business mileage the Home Office has committed to:
	Review current levels of mileage payment
	The policy relating to payment of mileage claims
	The scope for providing incentives for use of alternatively fuelled vehicles
	Promote the use of video-conferencing facilities
	Collect baseline data on the use of hire cars with a view to reducing their use
	A survey undertaken in 2003 showed that there were 27,146 car park spaces at Home Office sites. These included 21,158 spaces held for the Prison Service, some 3,033 held for the Immigration Service and 1,934 for the Probation Service. The Department is committed to making reasonable efforts to reduce the number of spaces.

External Consultants

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the external consultants which have carried out work for his Department under contracts in the last three years.

Fiona Mactaggart: The use of external consultants throughout the Home Office provides the Department with specialist knowledge, skills, capacity and technical expertise that is otherwise not available in house. This enables all units and organisations within the Department to achieve the levels of service required by the Home Office and the Government and assists in obtaining value for money.
	The main external consultants which have carried out work for the Home Office under contracts in the last three years are in a list, which will be sent to the Library.

Financial Systems (Security)

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many reports of (a) cyber attack and (b) misuse of the data and information systems of UK based banks and financial services companies he estimates there were in each year since 1997.

Caroline Flint: Reports of the unauthorised access to information systems and possible offences which might arise from the misuse or modification of data, are made to local police forces. There are no centrally aggregated figures of these reports.

Firearms Amnesty

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many of the firearms handed in during the amnesty of 2003 were (a) replica weapons, (b) antique or obsolete weapons, (c) toy guns, (d) blank firing airguns and (e) other types of firearms;
	(2)  how many firearms handed in during the amnesty of 2003 did not need a certificate for possession;
	(3)  whether people who handed in firearms during the 2003 amnesty that did not need a certificate were advised that they could lawfully keep them.

Caroline Flint: A detailed breakdown of the number and type of guns handed into the police was placed in the Library on 15 July 2003. These figures show that a total of 43,908 guns were handed in, including 13,974 air weapons and 9,480 imitations. It is not possible to break down these figures further into the categories requested.
	The primary purpose of the amnesty was to enable people to surrender illegally held guns and ammunition. Given the stricter laws which were being introduced in relation to the possession of air weapons and imitation firearms in a public place without reasonable excuse, it also provided an opportunity for young people, and others, to hand in guns which, while not illegal, were perhaps being held for criminal or anti-social purposes, or were no longer wanted. It was for individual forces to determine the procedures to be adopted for the surrender of all such items.

Fixed Penalty Notices

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the procedures for issuing fixed penalty notices by police officers.

Caroline Flint: Police issue fixed penalty notices (FPNs) for traffic offences under the powers set out in Part III of the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988, as amended by the Road Traffic Act 1991. Fixed penalties are currently available for about 150 different traffic offences.
	Where a driver is detected committing a fixed penalty offence, the police will decide what action to take in the particular case. The driver may be given an informal warning or issued with a fixed penalty notice or reported for prosecution. The police operate to Association of Chief Officer of Police (ACPO) guidelines advising on what course of action might be appropriate but it is in law ultimately a matter for the individual officer's decision.
	Fixed penalty notices for traffic offences may be issued using one of four different procedures. One involves fixing the FPN to the vehicle. This is normally used for parking offences. The FPN may be issued to the driver at the time of the offence in two sets of circumstances: one for non-endorsable offences, such as failure to wear a seat belt, the other for an endorsable offence, such as speeding. For endorsable offences, the driver has to produce his driving licence at the roadside or later at a police station. The fourth procedure is used to deal with offending drivers detected by automatic speed camera and involves sending a conditional fixed penalty offer to the person identified by the vehicle number plate as being the registered keeper.
	Police may also issue fixed penalty notices for disorder offences. Guidance has been provided by the Secretary of State for police, community support officers and persons accredited by a Chief Constable under community safety accreditation schemes under section 6 of the Act. Supplementary guidance has also been provided on the issue of fixed penalty notices to persons aged 16 and 17-years-old since the scheme was extended to them in January 2004. Copies of the guidance are available on the Home Office website at: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/crimpol/police/penalty/index.html
	The main police operational guidance is currently being revised and a new version will be provided to the police and published shortly. The Home Office continues to take feedback from the police on the operation of the fixed penalty notice for disorder scheme so that guidance may be updated as and when necessary.

G8 Conference

John Lyons: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which police forces will contribute to the security of the G8 Conference.

Caroline Flint: Responsibility for local policing in connection with the 2005 G8 Summit at Gleneagles, Perthshire, will rest with the Chief Constable of Tayside Police. Tayside Police will call on mutual aid from other police forces as appropriate, and arrangements for this are in hand.

Gold Incident Command Suite

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on how many occasions the Prison Service GOLD Incident Command suite has been opened in each month since April 2003; and what the nature was of each incident.

Paul Goggins: The Prison Service Gold Command suite opened on 40 occasions between 1 April 2003 and 28 June 2004. The suite was opened on 24 occasions to manage hostage incidents, on nine occasions to manage incidents of concerted indiscipline and on seven occasions to manage at height/roof climb incidents.
	An incident is classified as a concerted indiscipline when a number of prisoners collectively refuse to comply with a lawful order or involve themselves in disruption of an establishment's normal regime. Hostage incidents are when a prisoner or prisoners take another prisoner, or on occasion a member of staff, hostage. At height incidents usually involve a prisoner or prisoners getting onto a roof but can be other climbs. A barricade incident is when a prisoner barricades his cell or another area to prevent staff access.

Green Minister

John Horam: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the activities of the Green Minister in the Department in financial year 200304.

Fiona Mactaggart: As the Department's Green Minister I take the lead in improving the Department's performance in contributing towards sustainable development. I do this through meetings with the officials responsible for sustainable development to check progress and give my personal support where necessary. This has included giving a talk at a workshop to launch the Department's Sustainable Development Framework Project and judging a switch off poster competition, as well as attending more formal meetings on sustainable development issues.
	I am a member of the Ministerial Sub-Committee of Green Ministers.

HGVs (Road Accidents)

Helen Southworth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many road traffic incidents involving left hand drive heavy goods vehicles have been recorded by Cheshire police in the last year for which figures are available.

Caroline Flint: Information collected by my Department on motoring offences recorded by the police does not distinguish the characteristics of the vehicles involved.

Home Office Legislation

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the Home Office legislation which has been implemented in different parts of England on different dates since 1997.

Paul Goggins: holding answer 5 July 2004
	The following provisions of Home Office legislation passed since 1997 have been implemented in different parts of England and Wales on different dates.
	
		
			 Provision Subject matter of provision 
		
		
			 Crime and Disorder Act 1998 
			 Section 46 Date of first appearance in bail cases 
			 Section 49 Powers of magistrates' courts exercisable by single justice 
			 Section 51 No committal proceedings for indictable-only offences 
			 Sections 65 and 66 Reprimands and warnings 
			   
			 Criminal Justice and Court Services Act 2000 
			 Section 52 Electronic monitoring 
			 Section 57 Drug testing in police detention 
			   
			 Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 
			 Section 130 Remands and committals of juveniles to secure accommodation 
			   
			 Private Security Industry Act 2001 
			 Section 3 Conduct prohibited without a licence 
			   
			 Police Reform Act 2002 
			 Schedule 4 Detention by Community Support Officers 
			   
			 Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003 
			 Sections 4852 Removal of graffiti

Human Trafficking

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the progress in the UK's implementation of the European Union Council of Ministers' Framework Decision on Combating Trafficking in Human Beings.

Des Browne: The European Union Framework Decision requires us to criminalise trafficking for the purposes of sexual exploitation and forced labour. We are committed to criminalising trafficking effectively for these purposes, and in the case of trafficking for sexual exploitation legislative measures are already in force.
	The Sexual Offences Act 2003 includes offences covering trafficking into, within and out of the United Kingdom. These offences were brought into force on 1 May 2004. New offences covering trafficking for other forms of exploitation, including trafficking for the purposes of forced labour and removal of organs, are included in the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants, etc.) Bill, which is currently before Parliament.

Identity Cards

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment has been made of the experience of other countries regarding the experience of ethnic minorities with demands to show identity cards.

Des Browne: We have looked at schemes in other countries but the experience of ethnic minorities in other countries depends on a range of factors which are not necessarily comparable. These include:
	(i) whether the scheme is voluntary or compulsory;
	(ii) what police powers exist to require a person to produce an identity card or otherwise identify themselves;
	(iii) how the card scheme is linked to the provision of public services;
	(iv) what use the private sector makes of the card scheme; and
	(v) what legal safeguards are in place to outlaw unlawful discrimination.
	We have announced that we are building a base for a compulsory scheme. One of the advantages of a compulsory scheme is that any requirement to produce a card would not be discriminatory as everyone would have one. We have said that there will be no new power for the police to stop someone and demand to see their card. Our draft Bill does allow public services to specify how a card might be produced but Parliament will have to approve the rules on a case-by-case basis. There are also provisions to guard against 'compulsion by the back door' by prohibiting organisations from making an ID card the exclusive means of proving identity in advance of the scheme being compulsory.
	Finally the administration of the scheme and how it is used to verify identity by public services will be bound by the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000.

Immigration Database

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his answer of 12 July 2004, Official Report, column 983W, on immigration, what time it normally takes for the General Case Information Database to be updated with decisions; and how long it took in the case of Mr. Ahmed.

Des Browne: holding answer 16 July 2004
	Decisions made within General Group would normally be entered onto the General Case Information Database (G-CID) at the time of decision.
	Following initial inquiries, General Group's decision was entered on G-CID six weeks after receiving Mr. Ahmed's file.

IMPACT System

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions have taken place between (a) his officials and (b) the Police Information Technology Organisation and representatives of the Scottish Intelligence Database regarding its suitability for extension throughout Great Britain; what assessment he has made of the costs and time scale of such a roll-out; and what cost and time scale he envisages for the completion of the IMPACT system.

Caroline Flint: holding answer 19 July 2004
	In my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary's response to the House on 22 June 2004, following publication of Sir Michael Bichard's report he told the House the Government shall introduce a national intelligence IT system for the police. Preparations for this are under way. The new system will take full account of the Scottish Intelligence Database.

Internet Fraud

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the actions taken by (a) his Department and (b) the bodies for which he is responsible to combat fraud conducted over the internet.

Paul Goggins: Government seeks to educate computer users about the risks of fraud facilitated using the internet. The Home Office website provides advice on avoiding internet fraud, while the Department of Trade and Industry has a campaign entitled Don't be a Mug advising on scams and rip-offs, including internet scams.
	The Home Office has recently launched the 'e-tailing mini site', which forms part of the Crime Reduction Website. This provides information to help both businesses and consumers protect themselves specifically when using the internet. We have also recently published, jointly with APACS, a leaflet on safe credit card use. This includes a section on using cards safely over the internet.
	The Home Office is represented on an industry-led Steering Group which aims to tackle 'Card Not Present' (CNP) fraud (which includes fraud over the internet). We support practical measures being introduced by the industry to increase levels of security for internet transactions. These include Address Verification Services (AVS), Card Security Code (CSC), Mastercard Secure Code and Verified by Visa which are already making a significant impact on CNP Fraud.
	There is no specific organisation which has a specific mandate to combat fraud where it is facilitated utilising the internet.
	There are however a range of specialist units within forces which investigate fraud cases, regardless of the media used to commit or facilitate the offence, consulting computer crime units as appropriate in cases where technical expertise is required. Where cases involve serious and organised computer-enabled criminality at national and international levels the case may be dealt with by the National Hi Tech Crime Unit (NHTCU) within the National Crime Squad.
	The West African Organised Crime Section of the National Criminal Intelligence Service investigates cases of advance fee fraudin which letters are widely distributed by post, fax and emailwhich commonly lead to fraud, personal identity theft and corporate impersonation. They also deal with cases of website spoofing and obtaining goods by deception by West African criminal groups.
	Law enforcement is also engaged in public awareness and education campaigns. For instance in October 2003 NHTCU issued advice together with the British Bankers Association and Association of Payment and Card Services (APACS) on how the public could avoid phishing attacks.

LD50 Tests

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many LD50 tests were licensed in each year since 1997 for (a) cosmetics and (b) dual purpose products; how many of the licenses were issued to the Health Protection Agency; how many animals were involved in each case, broken down by (i) type and (ii) breed; and what products were tested.

Caroline Flint: No licensed LD50 tests have been conducted, under the regulatory provisions of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, since 1997either for cosmetic products, or in respect of dual purpose products where one of the intended purposes is use as a cosmetic.

Ministerial Air Travel

Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list for each year since 1997 the number of miles flown by each Minister on official departmental business.

Fiona Mactaggart: Detailed information for all Ministers in respect of UK travel is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, since 1999 the Government have published an annual list of all visits overseas undertaken by Cabinet Ministers costing 500 or more during each financial year. The Government have also published on an annual basis the cost of all Ministers' visits overseas. Copies of the lists are available in the Libraries of the House. These report information reaching back to 199596. Information for 200304 is currently being assembled and will be published shortly.
	All ministerial and civil service travel is undertaken in accordance with the rules set out in the Ministerial Code, Travel by Ministers, and Civil Service Management Code, copies of which are available in the Libraries of the House.

Ministerial Air Travel

Roy Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the total cost of air travel between Northern Ireland and Great Britain was for (a) ministers and (b) officials in his Department in the latest year for which figures are available.

Fiona Mactaggart: Detailed information for all Ministers (and staff) in respect of UK travel is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Money Laundering

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many incidents possibly related to money laundering (a) the Inland Revenue and (b) Customs and Excise reported to the appropriate investigative agencies in each year since 1997; and how many prosecutions each year resulted from these reports.

Caroline Flint: Powers to allow the Inland Revenue to pass disclosures relating to incidents of suspected money laundering to other investigatory agencies came into force with other provisions of the Anti-terrorism Crime and Security Act 2001 on 14 December 2001.
	Since that time the number of disclosures passed to the appropriate agencies by the Inland Revenue in each tax year has been as follows:
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 200102 0 
			 200203 3 
			 200304 7 
		
	
	The Inland Revenue do not have the power to prosecute incidents of suspected money laundering.
	For HM Customs and Excise (HMCE), the investigation of money laundering is an assigned matter with the result that, where investigators from the organisation discover incidences of its occurrence, they are empowered to investigate and prosecute the offence themselves and do not need to make disclosures to another agency.
	HMCE may refer cases to another agency where their investigations find that money laundering is related to offences which are not assigned, for example people trafficking or robbery. Since 2001, 17 money laundering cases have been referred to other agencies for them to pursue.
	The information provided by disclosures relating to incidents of money laundering is used by law enforcement agencies in a variety of ways to detect crime and trace the proceeds of criminal activity. For example, such information may contribute to an ongoing investigation, be the trigger for a new one, or be held on the relevant intelligence databases for future cases.
	Given the variety of ways in which this information is used, it is not possible to link particular disclosures with particular prosecutions and convictions in the majority of cases.

Motoring Offences (Mobile Phones)

Jim Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance his Department has issued to police forces in England and Wales concerning the implementation of the ban on using hand-held mobile phones while driving; and what measures are in place to monitor its enforcement.

Caroline Flint: The new, specific, offence of using a hand-held phone while driving is intended to provide a simple, objective offence, the enforcement and prosecution of which does not depend on judgements of control or carelessness. The Association of Chief Police Officers have welcomed it as a straightforward method of dealing with this dangerous behaviour. The police will enforce the offence as operationally appropriate, and no specific guidance has been issued by the Government.
	Data on action to enforce the new offence (written warnings, fixed penalty notices and court proceedings) will be available in autumn 2004.

Motoring Offences (Mobile Phones)

Mike Wood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many motorists have been found using mobile phones whilst driving since 1 December 2003; and how many drivers were (a) fined on the spot, (b) successfully prosecuted and (c) driving vans, buses, coaches and lorries.

Caroline Flint: Data on police action (written warnings, fixed penalty notices and court proceedings) for the new offence of driving while using a hand held mobile telephone will not be available until the autumn of 2004. Information collected centrally does not identify the type of vehicle involved unless specific to the legislation. Use of a hands free mobile phone is not an offence.

National Firearms Database

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the project to develop a National Firearms Database was first initiated; when the system was completed and in operation; and what the total cost was of the project.

Caroline Flint: holding answer 19 July 2004
	The requirement under section 39 of the Firearms (Amendment) Act 1997 for a central register of all persons who have applied for and been granted or refused a firearm or shot gun certificate is now being taken forward as part of a National Firearms Licensing Management System (NFLMS). I understand from the Police Information Technology Organisation that this project was initiated in September 2002. It is scheduled to be ready for service at the end of August 2004. The migration of individual force records from their local systems to NFLMS will take about six months to include all forces. The final cost of the project will not be available before then.

National Offender Management Service

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many representations his Department has received (a) in support of and (b) against the setting up of the National Offender Management Service.

Paul Goggins: We have received a total 264 responses to the initial consultation on the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) and 177 responses to the consultation paper on the NOMS organisational design.
	52 of these responses requested specific information or further copies of the consultation document. Of the responses that offered an opinion, over half, 114, offered general support for the new service and 98 expressed concern. Responses to the NOMS organisational design-consultation paper are currently being analysed.

National Offender Management Service

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will take steps to ensure that voluntary sector organisations have sufficient capacity to bid for contracts under the National Offender Management Service arrangements.

Paul Goggins: The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) is in the process of establishing a Voluntary Sector Unit, which will have oversight of the relationship between NOMS and the voluntary and community sector. Identifying the capacity building requirements of the sector to enable organisations to participate as providers in NOMS and putting in place the ways of addressing these will form part of the work of the Unit.

National Offender Management Service

Neil Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will publish the business case for the introduction of contestability and market testing into the National Offender Management Service.

Paul Goggins: The case for the establishment of the National Offender Management Service was outlined in Patrick Carter's independent report 'Managing OffendersReducing Crime' published along with the Government response 'Reducing CrimeChanging Lives' on 6 January 04. This includes the case for increased competition and wider contestability.

National Offender Management Service

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the new IT systems (a) Community-Tag and (b) Institution-Tag will be integrated into the National Offender Management Service and the measures contained in the Criminal Justice Act 2003.

Paul Goggins: Proposed IT support for the integrated management of offenders, serving either custodial or community sentences, is being piloted using the TAG product from Syscon Justice Systems Ltd. over the next 12 months. The pilot is intended to confirm the business model of the National Offender Management Service and take into account new sentencing provisions.
	Subject to successful completion of the pilot, approval to build and implement the new system will be sought with a view to implementation in 200607.

National Offender Management Service

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what responses he has received to the consultation document on the National Offender Management Service organisational design; and how many supported the proposals.

Paul Goggins: The Home Office has received 177 responses to the consultation paper on the National Offender Management Service's organisational design. The responses are currently being analysed.

National Offender Management Service

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff he expects to be employed by the National Offender Management Service on 1 June broken down by (a) grade and (b) function.

Paul Goggins: Currently the Prison Service has around 47,500 members of staff and the National Probation Service has around 19,000 full-time equivalent employees. The Correctional Services Head Quarters has around 400 staff.
	All of these employees now come under the ambit of the National Offender Management Service (NOMS). However as NOMS Directors are currently developing proposals for the shape, size and structure of the new Service, at this point in time we are unable to advise how this will be split in relation to grade or function.

Non-departmental Public Bodies

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many non-departmental public bodies for which his Department is responsible have been (a) established and (b) abolished since 1997.

Fiona Mactaggart: The Home Office sponsors over 46 public bodies, of which 28 are non-departmental public bodies. Details of Home Office non-departmental public bodies are submitted annually to the Cabinet Office for their publication Public Bodies, which is a series of annual publications, providing information on public bodies sponsored by Government. The latest publication being Public Bodies 2003.
	The information required for this PQ has been extracted from past editions of the Cabinet Office Public Bodies publications. Details of non-departmental public bodies that have been established and abolished since 1997 are shown in the table.
	
		
			  (a) Established (b) Abolished 
		
		
			 199798 1 1 
			 199899 3 1 
			 19992000 2 0 
			 200001 4 5 
			 200102 1 3 
			 200203 4 3

Obscene Websites

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans there are for meetings to be held between Ministers and computer manufacturers to discuss ways of limiting access to obscene websites, with particular reference to fitting filters at source.

Paul Goggins: holding answer 19 July 2004
	The Government firmly believes that users of the internet should be able to control what they see, and in particular what children are able to see, online. We support the development of a range of products and approaches to achieve this. Tools to enable such control can be applied by use of specific filtering software or by use of an Internet Service Provider which offers access controls as part of the internet connection package. Pre-loaded safety software, pre-set at point of sale to a high safety level, would be one of these options. We are currently working with the British Standards Institute to develop a BSI kitemark for filtering products, which could help guide consumers in their choices. This development follows initial work done by the Task Force on Child Protection on the Internet.

Obscene Websites

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans there are to provide funding to police authorities specifically for tackling obscene publications on the internet in terms of (a) manpower and (b) IT expertise.

Paul Goggins: Funding for this area of activity is met from within police authorities' own budgets. We have no plans to hypothecate the funding that police authorities should make available to tackle this particular issue.
	Provision for policing in England and Wales has increased by over 2.3 billion (over 30 per cent.) since 200001. The recent Spending Review settlement will allow us to continue with this significant investment in policing, although we are still to decide the detailed allocation of the settlement.
	The deployment of officers to deal with this issue and the training they receive is a matter for individual chief officers.

Obscene Websites

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to (a) review and (b) propose amendments to the law governing obscene publications.

Paul Goggins: holding answer 19 July 2004
	We are concerned about the availability of obscene material, particularly on the internet. We are currently considering whether the law governing obscene publications should be strengthened. This issue was discussed during the adjournment debate on 18 May, which was obtained by my hon. Friend the Member for Brighton, Pavilion (Mr. Lepper).

Offender Behaviour Programmes

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer to the right hon. Member for Haltemprice and Howden (David Davis) of 8 June 2004, Official Report, column 331W, on offender behaviour programmes, how many completions of each programme there were at each privately run prison.

Paul Goggins: holding answer 19 July 2004
	The following table gives information on the number of offending behaviour programmes that have been completed by prisoners at contracted out prison which provide these courses for 200304.
	
		
			   Offending behaviour programme   Establishment Number of course completions 
		
		
			 Controlling Anger and Learning to Manage it (CALM) HMP Wolds 19 
			 Cognitive Skills Booster Programme HMP Wolds 15 
			 Enhanced Thinking Skills (ETS) HMP Altcourse 37 
			 Enhanced Thinking Skills (ETS) HMP Doncaster 36 
			 Enhanced Thinking Skills (ETS) HMP Dovegate 48 
			 Enhanced Thinking Skills (ETS) HMP Forest Bank 35 
			 Reasoning and Rehabilitation (RR) HMP Dovegate 16 
			 Reasoning and Rehabilitation (RR) HMP Lowdham Grange 38 
			 Reasoning and Rehabilitation (RR) HMP Pare 47 
			 Reasoning and Rehabilitation (RR) HMP Rye Hill 55 
			 Reasoning and Rehabilitation (RR) HMP Wolds 33 
			 Sex Offender Treatment Programme (core) HMP Rye Hill 7 
			 Sex Offender Treatment Programme (adapted) HMP Rye Hill 17 
			 Sex Offender Treatment Programme (rolling) HMP Pare 21 
			 Total number of Sex Offender Treatment Programme Completions (Post IQR) 45 
			 Total number of Offender Behaviour Programme Completions (Post IQR) 469

Offender Behaviour Programmes

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the accredited offender behaviour programmes that have been developed and accredited by private sector prison companies.

Paul Goggins: holding answer 19 July 2004
	The Correctional Services Accreditation Panel (CSAP) accredits offending behaviour programmes for delivery to offenders in prison (and in the community under the auspices of the National Probation Service).
	In March 2004 a Democratic Therapeutic Community Core Model was accredited by the CSAP. This model was a collaborative development between four public sector prisons (Grendon, Gartree, Winchester West Hill and Aylesbury) and one private sector prison (Dovegate). The work was co-ordinated by the 'What Works In Prison Unit' in HM Prison Service Headquarters. HMP Dovegate contributed the majority of new material in the accreditation submission relating to training for staff.
	There have been no other programmes submitted by private sector prison companies, which have been accredited by CSAP.

Overseas Corruption Allegations

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much ring-fenced funding has been available to law enforcement agencies to deal with overseas corruption allegations in each of the last five years.

Paul Goggins: Implementation of Part 12 of the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 Act (ATCS) forms part of the National Policing Plan. Each police authority will take the National Policing Plan into account when drawing up their Local Policing Plans.
	As far as police authorities are concerned, every effort is made to allow police authorities as much scope as possible by not ring-fencing grant wherever feasible. In exceptional circumstances, the Home Secretary may be prepared to contribute to unforeseen costs within certain limits.

Overseas Corruption Allegations

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much money has been repatriated, and to which overseas countries, as a result of corruption investigations in the UK in each of the last five years.

Caroline Flint: I am not aware of any instances of repatriation of funds as a result of corruption investigations over the past five years. The UK Central Authority (UKCA) in the Home Office received a total of 22 incoming requests for restraint and confiscation of assets in 2003, and has received 10 so far this year. However, more detailed statistics detailing the offences to which requests relate and whether funds have been repatriated are not available.
	The UK is committed to assist its international partners in this area. It has signed the United Nations Convention against Corruption, which obliges parties to return assets to the requesting State where the case involves the embezzlement of public funds or the laundering of public funds.

Overseas Corruption Allegations

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans the Government have to revise the legislation on corruption; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Goggins: The Government published a draft Corruption Bill in March 2003 for pre-legislative scrutiny in order to consolidate and clarify the criminal law on bribery. Pursuant to the Joint Committee report and recommendations, the Government published their reply to the Joint Committee in December 2003 setting out the extent to which it agreed with the Committee. It indicated that the intention is to introduce a revised Bill to Parliament in due course, which remains the position.

Overseas Corruption Allegations

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases are on the national register of overseas corruption allegations held by the National Criminal Intelligence Service; and of these how many are being investigated.

Caroline Flint: The National Criminal Intelligence Service (NCIS) currently has 23 referrals on the Anti-terrorism and Crime Security Act register. Of those which it is possible to pursue, six are being considered by NCIS and six have been passed to law enforcement agencies for investigation under the Act.

Paedophiles

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the Government's strategy is for monitoring repeat paedophiles returning to the community after release from prison.

Paul Goggins: The protection of the public from sexual and violent offenders is one of the Government's highest priorities, particularly where children are involved. The release of such offenders into the community requires the robust assessment and management of risk. Since April 2001 ensuring such arrangements are in place have been the responsibility of police and probation in each of the 42 Areas of England and Wales. The arrangements, which are known as the Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA), have recently been strengthened by the Criminal Justice Act (2003).

PFI/PPP Schemes

Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the private finance initiative and public private partnership schemes his Department has entered into that have been subject to refinancing deals, indicating in each case how much of the windfall gain has been repaid to the Government.

Fiona Mactaggart: Her Majesty's Prison Altcourse was refinanced in 1999. HM Prison Service received payment of 1 million representing 9.3 per cent. share of the total refinancing gains and 20 per cent. of the amount requiring the Prison Service's consent under the contract.
	Her Majesty's Prison Pare was refinanced in 2001. Her Majesty's Prison Service did not have a contractual right to share in the refinancing benefit and did not receive any share in this benefit.

PFI/PPP Schemes

Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the (a) book value of the stakeholding, (b) onward sale price and (c) arrangements for sharing any windfall gain from subsequent refinancing arrangements are for each of the private finance initiative and public private partnership schemes his Department has entered into where there has been an onward sale of the private sector stakeholding into secondary market.

Fiona Mactaggart: From the best information available, there have been no instances where there has been an onward sale of the private sector stakeholding into a secondary market.

Police (Speeding)

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many policemen have been fined for speeding whilst driving in police cars in each of the last three years.

Caroline Flint: The information is not collected centrally.

Police Intelligence Database

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress has been made with his proposals for establishing a national police intelligence database; and if he will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: As announced by my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary in his statement to the House on 22 June 2004, following publication of Sir Michael Bichard's Report, the Government shall introduce the first national police intelligence computer system. Entitled Impact, it will ensure that all forces use the same system to manage and share intelligence information. In the following debate, in answer to the hon. Member for Winchester (Mr. Oaten), the Home Secretary indicated Impact could be in operation in two years, building on the Police Local Exchange (PLX) which should be available next spring. In the meantime three phases are being taken forward. Firstly, Impact will combine intelligence and data from forces' operational systems to deliver real data sharing. This is happening as we speak and progress is encouraging. Secondly, Impact will have analysis tools to pick out patterns of crime. Thirdly, it will enable specific police operations, within and between forces, through briefing and tasking functions. The Police Information Technology Organisation is now undertaking a full feasibility study of the requirements and solutions to build a technical demonstrator by next spring.

Police Intelligence Database

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will arrange for the early inspection of all police force intelligence systems before issuing the proposed statutory code.

Caroline Flint: The Police Information Technology Organisation will review and evaluate all intelligence systems available off-the-shelf either commercially or already within police forces as part of the work to build a technical demonstrator for the 'Impact' national intelligence system. Additionally, the data sharing phase of Impact will require a systems and data healthcheck in each force to prepare data held locally in a common format.
	The National Policing Plan requires all forces to comply with the National Intelligence Model for gathering and analysis of criminal intelligence. The Association of Chief Police Officers' (ACPO) minimum standards form part of the baseline assessment of forces undertaken by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC). The National Centre for Policing Excellence will co-ordinate the additional guidance to forces recommended by Sir Michael Bichard. This Statutory Code will set out the standards to be monitored both through HMIC Inspections and the Police Standards Unit through the 'Policing Performance Assessment Framework'.

Polls/Focus Groups

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much his Department has spent on (a) opinion polling and (b) focus groups in each year since 2001.

Fiona Mactaggart: The Home Office undertakes a wide range of research activities that support the development of information led policy.
	The Department conducts or commissions such work only when it is justified by the specific needs of a particular policy or programme and when this is the most economical, efficient and effective way to achieve the purpose. Consulting and involving the public helps inform both policy formulation and the delivery of better quality public services.
	Research programmes are often complex and combine a mixture of quantitative and qualitative elements. It is therefore not always possible to break down the separate costs of polling and focus group components from the overall cost of a research project. It has therefore not been possible to provide the breakdown requested without incurring disproportionate cost.

Prison Officers

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make it his policy to regard assaults on prison officers in the execution of their duties as notifiable offences.

Paul Goggins: Assault is already a notifiable offence. There are no specific plans to make all assaults on prison officers separately notifiable.
	In certain circumstances, assaults on a prison officer are already included in the recorded crime (notifiable offences) series. Any offence, which is reported to and investigated by the police, will be recorded as a notifiable offence by them.
	However, a minor offence which is dealt with under prison discipline, would not usually be recorded by the police.

Prison Officers

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make it his policy to regard prison officers as constables for the purposes of section 89 of the Police Act 1996.

Paul Goggins: There are no current plans to do so.

Prison Service

Neil Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prison officers were employed by the Prison Service on a part-time basis on 31 March in each of the last five years.

Paul Goggins: The table contains the number of part-time officers in each year since 1999. The figures include prison officers, senior officers and principal officers.
	
		
			 31 March Number 
		
		
			 2004 662 
			 2003 501 
			 2002 343 
			 2001 211 
			 2000 142 
			 1999 140 
		
	
	The figures for 1999 and 2000 are estimates.
	There has been a significant increase in the number of officers working part-time, which is a reflection of the greater emphasis placed on work-life balance in recent years.
	An addition, the Prison Service Equal Opportunities policy was issued in 2003 to encourage more staff to work part-time hours. This part of the Service's work-life balance policy, which also includes; job sharing and other flexible working patterns.
	It is now the case that all posts including those on recruitment must be available on either a part-time or job-share basis, except where critical examination by line management shows the post to be unsuitable for part-time or job-share.

Prison Service

Neil Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the prison population was on 31 March in each of the last five years.

Paul Goggins: The prison population in England and Wales on 31 March in each of the last five years is provided in the table.
	
		Prison population, England and Wales, 31 March
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 2000 65,463 
			 2001 65,394 
			 2002 69,784 
			 2003 72,954 
			 2004 75,295

Prison Service

Neil Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners have undertaken dirty protests in each of the last five years.

Paul Goggins: The information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Prison Service

Neil Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners have been required to remain in a hospital overnight with prison officer supervision in each of the last five years.

Paul Goggins: This information is not collected centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Prison Service

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the main benefits of competition within the Prison Service are.

Paul Goggins: Competitive tendering is one of the principles underlying Government purchasing activities and contributes to seeking and demonstrating good value for money. Additionally, requirements above certain financial thresholds stipulated by the EU have to be advertised in accordance with EU rules on public procurement.
	Competition ensures that a contract is formed with the most suitable supplier in the market for the goods or services required. Checks undertaken as part of the procurement process will mean that the supplier is financially sound, technically and commercially capable of providing the goods or services, submits the best offer in value for money terms and can be expected to provide the goods or service successfully.
	All of this reduces the risk to the Department of a failed contract and provides an audit trail that illustrates the department's commitment to an impartial selection and award process.

Prison Service

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prison healthcare officers were (a) in post and (b) planned to be in post on 31 March.

Paul Goggins: On 31 March 2004 the Prison Service corporate personnel database recorded 488 prison officer healthcare staff in post, compared to an operational staffing requirement of 550. This includes prison officer, senior officer and principal officer specialists. It excludes officers who are training to be specialist healthcare officers.

Prison Service

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prison healthcare officers there were in each prison establishment on 31 March in each of the last five years.

Paul Goggins: Information on the number of specialist healthcare officers within each public sector prison establishment for each year since 2001 is contained in the table. Prior to 2001, this data was not collected centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. The figures include prison officer, senior officer and principal officer specialists and are all on a headcount basis.
	
		Specialist healthcare officers
		
			 Establishment 31 March 2001 31 March 2002 31 March 2003 31 March 2004 
		
		
			 Acklington 3 2 1  
			 Aylesbury 3 2 1 2 
			 Bedford 4 3 2 2 
			 Belmarsh 9 11 10 9 
			 Birmingham 19 15 13 14 
			 Blantyre House 1 1 1 1 
			 Blundeston 3 3 2  
			 Bristol 5 3 5 5 
			 Brixton 23 21 13 11 
			 Brockhill 1
			 Bullingdon 5 5 6 6 
			 Canterbury 6 5 5 5 
			 Cardiff 7 7 8 7 
			 Castington 1 1 1 1 
			 Channings Wood 3 3 3 4 
			 Chelmsford 6 5 6 7 
			 Coldingley 1 2 2 2 
			 Dartmoor 8 6 6 4 
			 Dorchester 3 3 2 2 
			 Dover 3 2 2 2 
			 Downview 2 1 1  
			 Durham 9 7 6 6 
			 Eastwood Park   1  
			 Elmley 8 6 10 7 
			 Everthorpe 2 1 1  
			 Exeter 7 6 5 6 
			 Featherstone 3 2 2 2 
			 Feltham 6 5 4 15 
			 Ford 2 1 1 1 
			 Frankland 15 13 12 12 
			 Full Sutton 14 11 7 6 
			 Garth 14 14 12 6 
			 Gartree 7 7 8 7 
			 Glen Parva 5 5 4 2 
			 Gloucester 5 4 4 2 
			 Grendon 14 12 6 7 
			 Guys Marsh 2 2 2 2 
			 Haverigg 2 2 2 2 
			 High Down 3 3 4 7 
			 Highpoint 4 3 1  
			 Hindley 11 12 10 8 
			 Hollesley Bay 3 3   
			 Holme House 8 7 7 8 
			 HQ 1 4 3 1 
			 Hull 11 8 11 10 
			 Huntercombe 1 1 4 3 
			 Kingston 4 3 3 2 
			 Kirkham 1 1 1 1 
			 Lancaster1 
			 Latchmere House 1 1 1 1 
			 Leeds 17 14 14 14 
			 Leicester 5 7 5 7 
			 Lewes 11 8 5 4 
			 Leyhill 1 2 1 1 
			 Lincoln 16 14 8 8 
			 Lindholme 3 3 3 2 
			 Littlehey 5 5 2 2 
			 Liverpool 41 35 34 28 
			 Long Lartin 2 2 2  
			 Low Newton 2 2 2 2 
			 Maidstone 2 2 1 1 
			 Manchester 15 15 13 12 
			 Moorland 15 15 13 13 
			 New Hall2 
			 Northallerton 1
			 Norwich 10 8 10 9 
			 Nottingham 9 8 8 6 
			 Onley 2 2 2 2 
			 Parkhurst 15 15 14 16 
			 Pentonville 7 7 7 5 
			 Portland 4 4 4 3 
			 Preston 19 19 17 13 
			 Ranby 4 6 5 5 
			 Reading 4 4 5 5 
			 Risley 2 2 2 1 
			 Rochester 9 6 6 5 
			 Send 1
			 Shrewsbury 2
			 Edmunds Hill  2 2 2 
			 Stafford 9 8 6 4 
			 Standford Hill 3 3 3 3 
			 Stocken 2 1   
			 Sudbury 2 1 1 1 
			 Swaleside 4 5 5 8 
			 Swansea 6 6 7 7 
			 Swinfen Hall 5 3 1 1 
			 The Mount 1 1 1 1 
			 The Verne 1
			 Thorn Cross 2 2 3 3 
			 Usk/Prescoed1 
			 Wakefield 16 14 14 14 
			 Wandsworth 8 6 7 4 
			 Warren Hill   4 5 
			 Wayland 4 4 4 3 
			 Wealstun 1 1 1  
			 Weare 1  1 1 
			 Werrington 2 3 4 2 
			 Wetherby 1 2 2 2 
			 Whitemoor 5 9 9 6 
			 Winchester 13 12 13 11 
			 Woodhill 12 20 16 14 
			 Wormwood Scrubs 16 18 14 14 
			 Wymott6 
			 Total 617 571 523 488

Prison Service

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the training programme is for prison healthcare officers; and how many officers have undertaken the training in each of the last five years.

Paul Goggins: This information is not available in precisely the form requested. Prison staff without nursing qualifications are eligible to become healthcare officers. The expectation is that they will obtain a National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) in custodial healthcare or another health-related subject.
	The first pilot for the NVQ in custodial healthcare, which began in June 2002 with 53 candidates from 24 establishments, is due to be completed on 4 August 2004. The Prison Service is currently compiling information on which healthcare officers already have a relevant NVQ and who would like to obtain one.

Prison Service

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prison custody officer certificates have been withdrawn by his Department from staff at Her Majesty's Prison Bronzefield.

Paul Goggins: The Office for Contracted Prisons certifies all Prison Custody Officers. The Certification of the first Prison Custody Officer for HMP Bronzefield took place on the 10 June 2004. From this date 123 people have been certified to work at HMP Bronzefield as Prison Custody Officers. At present no certificates have been withdrawn.

Prison Service

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the innovative working practices, methods and programmes that have been introduced at privately run prison establishments that have been subsequently introduced into publicly run prisons as best practice; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Goggins: There is no simple way to track the spread of innovative working practices between the private and public sectors of the Prison Service. However since the first private prison opened in 1992 significant improvements have been achieved in the treatment of prisoners, regimes and facilities, staff deployment and the use of technology. The introduction of contestability through Market Testing will further encourage the dissemination of good practice.

Probation Office (Leighton Buzzard)

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the probation office in Leighton Buzzard was closed; and what plans there are to re-open it.

Paul Goggins: The probation office in Leighton Buzzard was closed in 1997. The building has since been demolished and redeveloped as retirement flats. There are no current plans to re-open a probation office in Leighton Buzzard.

Probation Programmes

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the evidential basis was for the decision to separate probation case management and accredited programme work within the National Offender Management Service structure.

Paul Goggins: holding answer 21 June 2004
	Patrick Carter's independent report Managing OffendersReducing Crime, published along with the Government response Reducing CrimeChanging Lives on 6 January 2004, recommended separating offender management from accredited programmes as a way of developing greater contestability.

Project Endurance

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on Project Endurance.

Caroline Flint: holding answer 20 July 2004
	Officials from the Home Office and other Government Departments are engaged in talks with industry and law enforcement representatives concerning a possible joint public awareness campaign regarding computer security and staying safe on line. These initial discussions have gone under the title of Project Endurance.

Public Order Act

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance he has given to police and magistrates on interpreting the meaning of what constitutes harassment, alarm and distress in Section 5 of the Public Order Act 1986.

Caroline Flint: Home Office Circular 11/1987 provided guidance on section 5 of the Public Order Act 1986. The Circular has been supplemented by the decisions of the courts

Recidivism

Neil Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has commissioned research into the effectiveness of programme and case management integration on (a) programme completion and (b) re-offending rates.

Paul Goggins: The Home Office's National Probation Directorate (NPD) has commissioned one study that looked at the relationship between case management and accredited programme completion in the Probation Service. The research was conducted by Oxford University and it was managed and published by the National Probation Directorate in 2004. The Home Office's Research, Development and Statistics Directorate (RDS) has evaluated it. The published findings Think First Prospective Research Study: Effectiveness and Reducing Attrition are available on the National Probation Service website (www.probation.homeoffice.gov.uk).
	The research found that good case management was associated with improved completion rates of the Think First programme. Of greatest value was when case management involved intense supervision around the start of the programme, support with personal problems, and frequent contact after completion of the programme to assist offenders in using what had been learnt.
	NPD is planning to carry out a study to look at the impact of the Think First programme on reconviction rates (an established proxy measure for re-offending). The results should be available in 2005.
	Also, the Home Office RDS is carrying out a systematic review of the international evidence in what works in offender management in the delivery of correctional services to reduce re-offending. The results from this are expected to be available in 2005.

Regional Offender Management

Neil Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how he will ensure that Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements boards will continue to function locally under regional offender management arrangements.

Paul Goggins: The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) will build upon the range of work probation boards undertake at a local level. The significant contribution the Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements have made to public protection will form a key part of the core offender management function within NOMS.
	Operationally MAPPA usually function at a local rather than area level and will continue to do so under the arrangements for NOMS. The Multi-Agency Public Protection Panels, which oversee the management of the highest risk offenders, will continue to manage the risks posed by the individual offenders in question.

Rehabilitation Regimes

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how he will measure the impact of (a) prison regimes and (b) probation work with individual offenders, if those offenders (i) move prisons and (ii) move probation areas.

Paul Goggins: Surveying Prisoner Crime Reduction (SPCR) is planned as a longitudinal survey of a representative sample of around 4,000 new prisoners. The study will examine the range of interventions that prisoners receive during their sentence and whether these make a difference during and after custody. Tracking the movement of prisoners between establishments will be an important part of this work.
	A parallel study of offenders on community sentences is also planned. Investigating Targeting, Tailoring and Sequencing of Interventions on Re-offending of Offenders on Community Sentences (ITTSI) will explore how interventions work in combination to address the range of criminogenic needs of offenders on community sentences. It will track a large and representative sample of offenders; profile offenders and their needs; track experiences of interventions; and evaluate the impact of interventions in combination on reducing re-offending. The research will also aim to track any offender from the cohort who moves out of the study probation areas.

Shotgun Licensing

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the number of people who will be affected by changes to the licensing on shotgun ownership; what assessment he has made of the effect of the proposed changes on the number of crimes committed; how many crimes were committed with licensed shotguns in the last year for which figures are available; and what estimate he has made of the cost of implementation of the new arrangements.

Caroline Flint: The Government have made no specific proposals for changes to the arrangements for licensing shotgun owners. Our consultation paper on firearms control seeks views by 31 August on a range of issues concerning the use and possession of firearms. We will consider all responses carefully before deciding what needs to be done, if anything, to improve existing controls. There were 561,762 shot gun certificates on issue at the end of March 2003. Shot guns were used to commit 671 recorded crimes in 200203; it is not known how many of these were legally held.

Departmental Publications (Storage)

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many departmental publications are in storage; and where they are located.

Fiona Mactaggart: Latest stock records show that 1,745 titles relating to the Home Office are currently in storage. This includes a wide range of departmental publications including policy and consultation documents, crime reduction materials, research documents and other public information literature.
	Stock levels are monitored to ensure that only regularly ordered materials are retained.
	Publications are stored by our contracted Data Management and Distribution Warehouse Prolog UK (Phase 2), Sherwood Park, Annesley, Nottinghamshire NG15 ODJ.

Crime Victims

Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) road use related crime victims and (b) non-road use related crime victims there were in the last year for which figures are available.

Caroline Flint: In Great Britain in 2002, 3,431 people were killed in road traffic incidents, 35,976 were seriously injured and 263,198 were slightly injured. A proportion of these would have involved serious motoring offences such as Careless Driving, Dangerous Driving and Causing Death by Dangerous Driving.
	Information is not available on the number of victims of other forms of road use related crime, such as unauthorised taking of a motor vehicle and aggravated vehicle taking or on victims of any other types of criminal offence. However, police recorded crime statistics for 200203 show that out of a total of 5,899,450 offences, a range of incidents related specifically to road use, as detailed in the table.
	
		
			 Offence Number of offences 
		
		
			 Dangerous driving 7,551 
			 Aggravated vehicle taking 11,530 
			 Theft from a vehicle 658,740 
			 Vehicle interference and tampering 91,653 
			 Criminal damage to a vehicle 428,110 
			 Theft or unauthorised taking of a motor vehicle 305,654 
			 Total 1,503,238 
		
	
	The remaining 4,396,212 recorded offences related largely to non-road use crime.

Visas (China)

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the Government has changed its policy on assessing visa applications from Chinese students.

Chris Mullin: I have been asked to reply.
	There has been no change in the policy on assessing applications from Chinese students although procedures for processing applications have been revised.
	Our visa teams across China are working hard to ensure a proper balance between the facilitation of genuine student applications and effective immigration control. They have now developed better mechanisms to identify the increasing problem of visa and document abuse. Visa sections in China have also altered the procedures covering the assessment of student applications. This has streamlined the process and provided a more convenient service to the applicant, whilst reflecting increased concerns over the level of visa abuse, relating to the student market in China.

Water Consumption

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the non-office sites within his Department's estates that have been identified as being likely to provide opportunities for significant water savings.

Fiona Mactaggart: The Prison Service has benchmarked water consumption on their estate. This has identified some 71 sites that are consuming more than typical consumption benchmark. These are as follows
	HMP Askham Grange
	HMP North Sea Camp
	HMP Brixton
	HMP Haverigg
	HMP Portsmouth Kingston
	HMP Ford
	HMP Foston Hall
	HMP Full Sutton
	HMP Long Lartin
	HMP Garth
	HMP Maidstone
	HMP Grendon/Springhill
	HMP Send
	HMP Chelmsford
	HMP Preston
	HMP Swaleside/HMP Elmley
	HMP Moorland
	HMP and YOI Guys Marsh
	HMP Blantyre House
	HMP Wayland
	HMP Dorchester
	HMP Pentonville
	HMP Bullwood Hall
	HMP Highpoint
	HMYOI Deerbolt
	HMP Standford Hill
	HMP Hewell Grange
	HMP Canterbury
	HMP Wolds
	HMP High Down
	HMP Leeds
	HMP Coldingley
	HMP Frankland
	HMP Featherstone
	HMP Wymott
	HMP The Mount
	HMP Sudbury
	HMP Lindholme
	HMP Lancaster
	HMP Shotts
	HMP Porterfield
	HMP Acklington/Castington
	HMP Lewes
	HMP Wandsworth
	HMP Gloucester
	HMYOI Huntercombe
	HMYOI Dover
	HMP Barlinnie
	HMYOI Brinsford
	HMP Kirkham
	HMP Peterhead
	HMP Hollesley Bay
	HMP East Sutton Park
	HMP Leyhill
	HMP Prescoed
	HMYOI Thorn Cross
	HMP Parkhurst
	HMP Edinburgh
	HMYOI Swinfen Hall
	HMP Holloway
	HMP Woodhill
	HMP Latchmere House
	HMP Blantyre House
	HMP Wayland
	HMP Dorchester
	HMP Pentonville
	HMP Bullwood Hall
	HMP Highpoint
	HMYOI Deerbolt
	HMP Standford Hill
	HMP Hewell Grange
	HMP Canterbury
	HMP Wolds
	HMP High Down
	HMP Leeds
	HMP Coldingley
	HMP Frankland
	HMP Featherstone
	HMP Wymott
	HMP The Mount
	HMP Sudbury
	HMP Lindholme
	HMP Lancaster
	HMP Shotts
	HMP Porterfield
	HMP Acklington/Castington
	HMP Lewes
	HMP Wandsworth
	HMP Gloucester
	HMYOI Huntercombe
	HMYOI Dover
	HMP Barlinnie
	HMYOI Brinsford
	HMP Kirkham
	HMP Peterhead
	HMP Hollesley Bay
	HMP East Sutton Park
	HMP Leyhill
	HMP Prescoed
	HMYOI Thorn Cross
	HMP Parkhurst
	HMP Edinburgh
	HMYOI Swinfen Hall
	HMP Holloway
	HMP Woodhill
	HMP Latchmere House
	HMP New Hall
	HMP Wealstun
	HMP and YOI Drake Hall
	HMP/RC Exeter
	HMP Doncaster
	HMYOI Werrington
	HMP Portland
	HMYOI Portland
	HMP North Sea Camp
	HMP Haverigg
	HMP Ford
	HMP Full Sutton
	HMP Garth
	HMP Grendon/Springhill
	HMP Chelmsford
	HMP Swaleside/HMP Elmley
	HMP and YOI Guys Marsh
	Immigration Removal Centres, Contracted Out Prisons and Forensic Science Service Laboratories have not been benchmarked, but their sites listed as follows, may have a potential for significant water savings.
	Immigration Removal Centres
	Campsfield House
	Colnbrook
	Dover
	Forest Bank
	Haslar
	Lindholme
	Oakington
	Tinsley House
	Yarls Wood
	Dungavel
	Privately Managed Prisons
	Altcourse
	Ashfield
	Dovegate
	Forest Bank
	Lowdham Grange
	Parc
	Rye Hill
	Bronzefield
	Doncaster
	The Wolds
	Forensic Science Service Laboratories
	Lambeth
	Huntingdon
	Chepstow
	Chorley
	Wetherby
	Priory House
	Trident Court

Water Consumption

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how much (a) his Department and (b) agencies of the Department have spent on water and sewerage services in each year since 1997;
	(2)  what changes there have been in water consumption by his Department between each year since 1997.

Fiona Mactaggart: The Prison Service has collected its water consumption and cost figures centrally for the period covered by the question. The non-prison estate has only been collecting water consumption figures for key office buildings since 19992000, when these figures were included in the annual Sustainable Development in Government annual reports (previously known as the Greening Government annual report). As these reports only required consumption per staff member figures, information on consumption prior to 200102 was not retained. The figures are set out in the table.
	
		
			  Prison Non-prison 
			  Cost (000) Consumption (m3) Consumption per prisoner (m3) Cost () Consumption (m3) Consumption per staff member (m3) 
		
		
			 199798 10,512 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 199899 11,172 8,598,181 138.7 n/a n/a n/a 
			 19992000 11,312 8,313,496 138.4 n/a n/a 16 
			 200001 9,491 8,123,215 138.0 n/a n/a 15 
			 200102 10,041 8,361,421 135.8 n/a 143,091 13.9 
			 200203 10,761 8,147,572 125.7 176,000 202,520 12.7 
			 200304 11,127 7,661,278 114.4 (74) (74) (74) 
		
	
	n/a = not available
	(74) Not yet known
	Notes:
	1. The non-prison figures relate to key office buildings in the core Home Office and UK Passport Agency.
	2. The figures do not include any Home Office sponsored non-departmental public bodies.
	3. The Prison Service figures for 200304 are provisional.

Watermark Project

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether his Department has joined the Watermark project.

Fiona Mactaggart: The Home Office joined the Watermark project in 2001.

HEALTH

Social Work Degree

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many bursaries have been taken up by students studying for the new social work degree.

Stephen Ladyman: The total number of social work bursaries awarded by the General Social Care Council in the 200304 academic year was 7,626.
	This represents students on the new degree and diploma in social work programmes. It is not possible to separately identify those on the new degree.

Alzheimer's Disease

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people (a) under the age of 40, (b) aged 40 to 50 and (c) aged 50 to 60 years are (i) diagnosed with Alzheimer's and (ii) receiving NHS treatment for Alzheimer's.

Stephen Ladyman: Although the Department does not routinely collect information on the number of people diagnosed with dementia, there are an estimated 750,000 people with dementia in the United Kingdom, of whom around 400,000 have Alzheimer's disease (around 55 per cent.). Around 18,000 of the total number of people with dementia are aged under 65 years.

Anaphylaxis

David Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people in England have died from anaphylaxis in each of the last five years; how many hospital doctors in England have received specialist training in the treatment of anaphylaxis; and what plans he has to fund further (a) research and (b) professional development in this field.

Stephen Ladyman: The table shows the number of deaths in England and Wales between 19982002 where one or more of the conditions mentioned on the death certificate was classified as anaphylactic shock by the International Classification of Diseases (ICD).
	
		Number of deaths where the underlying or one of the contributory causes of death was classified as anaphylactic shock(75) England and Wales, 1998 to 2002(76)
		
			 Calendar year Number of deaths 
		
		
			 1998 9 
			 1999 12 
			 2000 11 
			 2001 3 
			 2002 10 
		
	
	(75) Causes of death were classified as anaphylactic shock for the years 1998 to 2000 using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) codes
	995.0Anaphylactic shock
	999.4Anaphylactic shock due to serum
	and for the years 2001 and 2002 using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes
	T78.0Anaphylactic shock due to adverse food reaction
	T78.2Anaphylactic shock, unspecified
	T80.5Anaphylactic shock due to serum
	T88.6Anaphylactic shock due to adverse effect of correct drug or medicament properly administered.
	(76) Figures are based on deaths occurring in each calendar year
	Source:
	Office for National Statistics
	Information is not available centrally on hospital doctors who have received specialist training in anaphylaxis. Post registration training needs for national health service staff are determined against local NHS priorities, through appraisal processes and training needs analyses informed by Local Delivery Plans and the needs of the service.
	The main agency through which the Government supports medical and clinical research is the Medical Research Council (MRC). The MRC is an independent body which receives its grant-in-aid from the Office of Science and Technology. The Medical Research Council does not currently fund any research directly on anaphylaxis. However, the Council does fund a considerable amount of basic underpinning research in immunology and allergy which may lead to further understanding of the mechanisms involved.

Antipsychotic Drugs

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many prescription items were dispensed in the community in England for atypical antipsychotic drugs, in each of the last three years (a) broken down by health authority and (b) in total; and if he will make a statement;

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (2) how many prescription items were dispensed in the community in England for all antipsychotic drugs, in each of the last three years (a) broken down by health authority and (b) in total; and if he will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: Information on the numbers of prescription items of atypical traditional and all antipsychotic drugs dispensed in the community in England in each of the last three years broken down by strategic health authority is shown in the table.
	
		Number of prescription items of antipsychotics dispensed in the community in England by strategic health authorities, 2001 to 2003 -- Thousand
		
			  Number of prescription items of Atypical Antipsychotics Number of prescription items of Traditional Antipsychotics Number of prescription items of all Antipsychotics 
			 Strategic health authority in which dispensed 2001 2002 2003 2001 2002 2003 2001 2002 2003 
		
		
			 Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire 72.5 98.2 124.0 146.3 131.2 121.2 218.8 229.4 245.2 
			 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 55.8 73.8 88.1 63.1 53.7 47.8 119.0 127.5 135.9 
			 Essex 54.3 70.7 87.3 73.0 62.8 56.5 127.2 133.4 143.8 
			 North West London 65.5 87.6 104.9 71.0 60.0 51.8 136.5 147.6 156.7 
			 North Central London 53.4 69.0 80.0 57.0 47.8 41.9 110.4 116.8 121.9 
			 North East London 57.6 75.3 94.3 61.7 53.4 47.8 119.4 128.7 142.0 
			 South East London 54.7 72.0 86.9 59.7 48.6 42.0 114.5 120.6 128.9 
			 South West London 55.8 71.7 86.0 53.7 45.1 40.9 109.5 116.8 127.0 
			 Northumberland, Tyne and Wear 71.0 90.3 108.9 83.5 70.5 61.4 154.5 160.9 170.2 
			 County Durham and Tees Valley 40.5 54.2 71.1 83.5 72.2 65.8 124.0 126.5 137.0 
			 North and East Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire 51.1 72.9 94.2 100.1 90.3 79.4 151.1 163.2 173.6 
			 West Yorkshire 96.9 128.5 159.2 133.4 119.5 110.7 230.3 247.9 270.0 
			 Cumbria and Lancashire 86.7 118.5 148.9 134.9 120.3 108.0 221.7 238.8 256.8 
			 Greater Manchester 122.6 168.1 218.1 223.3 194.6 178.6 345.8 362.6 396.7 
			 Cheshire and Merseyside 121.5 162.0 200.4 180.6 161.1 146.2 302.1 323.1 346.6 
			 Thames Valley 70.3 94.0 115.8 81.2 70.4 62.2 151.5 164.4 178.0 
			 Hampshire and Isle of Wight 76.8 101.2 123.0 94.0 81.6 75.1 170.9 182.8 198.1 
			 Kent and Medway 59.9 79.0 96.8 76.2 63.4 56.3 136.1 142.4 153.2 
			 Surrey and Sussex 90.1 117.4 147.7 141.6 120.7 104.9 231.7 238.1 252.5 
			 Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire 73.4 101.7 127.6 120.7 103.7 92.4 194.1 205.5 220.0 
			 South West Peninsula 62.7 82.3 100.1 109.4 95.3 83.6 172.2 177.6 183.7 
			 Somerset and Dorset 37.8 51.9 64.7 65.1 57.4 50.5 102.9 109.3 115.2 
			 South Yorkshire 37.8 52.0 68.3 94.2 83.7 75.3 132.0 135.7 143.6 
			 Trent 54.1 77.5 103.4 171.6 153.3 136.1 225.7 230.8 239.5 
			 Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland 43.6 60.5 78.5 80.2 72.2 68.3 123.8 132.7 146.8 
			 Shropshire and Staffordshire 43.6 58.6 73.8 85.5 73.7 66.8 129.2 132.3 140.6 
			 Birmingham and the Black Country 76.4 105.9 137.4 150.1 131.5 118.0 226.5 237.4 255.4 
			 West Midlands South 55.4 76.3 94.3 81.2 68.9 61.9 136.6 145.3 156.2 
			 England 1,842.0 2,471.3 3,083.7 2,876.0 2,507.2 2,251.3 4,718.0 4,978.5 5,335.0 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. PCA data covers all prescription items that are dispensed in the community in England, (this covers items dispensed by community pharmacists and appliance contractors, dispensing doctors, and prescriptions submitted by prescribing doctors for items personally administered PCA data does not include items dispensed in hospitals or private prescriptions.
	2. Antipsychotics are defined in the British National Formulary (BNF) paragraph 4.2.1, antipsychotic drugs. Atypical antipsychotics cover the drugs Amisulpride, Clozapine, Oianzapine, Quetiapine, Risperidone, Sertindole and Zotepine contained within BNF 4.2.1. Antipsychotic depot injections (BNF 4.2.2) have been excluded from this analysis. the same as the StHA in which the drug was prescribed.
	3. The information by Strategic Health Authority (StHA) is the StHA in which the drug was dispensed in the community. This is not necessarily
	4. Doctors, dentists or nurses write prescriptions on a prescription form. Each single item written on the form is counted as a prescription item.
	Source:
	Prescription Cost Analysis (PCA) data from the Prescription Pricing Authority

Art Therapy

Bob Laxton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what contribution art therapy has made towards patient treatment and recovery within the NHS; and what plans the Government has to recruit more art therapists.

John Hutton: The Department has not recently commissioned or undertaken a national review of the contribution of art therapy. Primary care trusts (PCTs) have the responsibility for improving the health of the community, securing the provision of high quality services and integrating health and social care locally. They are also responsible for addressing the service needs of their local communities and developing the workforce they require to deliver services. In commissioning services, PCTs need to plan local services near to patients and ensure that they are identifying the health needs of patients and securing services for them. It is for PCTs, in partnership with strategic health authorities and other local stakeholders, to determine how best to use their funds to meet national and local priorities for improving health, tackling health inequalities and modernising services.

Bacterial Meningitis

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the cost of providing a booster vaccination for bacterial meningitis;
	(2)  what plans he has to introduce a booster vaccination programme for bacterial meningitis; and if he will make a statement.

Melanie Johnson: Since the meningitis C vaccine was introduced into the United Kingdom, rates of this disease have fallen by over 90 per cent.
	We currently have no plans to introduce a booster dose. However, we carefully monitor rates of disease and other evidence to ensure our vaccination programme offers the most effective and safest protection.

Bed Occupancy

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the bed occupancy rates were in (a) England, (b) each strategic health authority and (c) each NHS hospital trust in each year since 1996.

John Hutton: Information on beds is collected on a provider basis from national health service organisations and the latest data available are for the year 200203. Beds data for 200304 will be published later this year.
	The table shows the average occupancy rate for England between 199697 and 200203.
	NHS organisation data are available from the Department's website from 200001 at www.performance.doh.gov.uk/hospitalactivity/index.htm. Beds data from 198788 to 19992000 are available in the Library.
	
		Average daily number of available and occupied beds in wards open overnight, England, 199697 to 200203 -- Percentage occupancy
		
			  All specialties General and acute 
		
		
			 199697 81.3 80.8 
			 199798 80.9 80.5 
			 199899 82.5 82.5 
			 19992000 82.7 83.1 
			 200001 84.0 84.7 
			 200102 85.1 86.0 
			 200203 85.4 86.5 
		
	
	Source:
	Department of Health form KH03

Births/Terminations

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many (a) births and (b) terminations there were of babies with Down's Syndrome in each of the last five years;
	(2)  how many (a) births and (b) terminations there were of babies with (i) spina bifida, (ii) heart defects and (iii) kidney problems recognised during pregnancy in each of the last five years;
	(3)  if he will estimate the percentage of terminations conducted in each of the past 10 years on account of potential handicap of the baby;
	(4)  if he will estimate the number of terminations conducted on account of (a) foot deformities, (b) cleft lips and (c) cleft palates in each of the past five years.

Melanie Johnson: This information is published annually in the Office for National Statistics publication, Congenital Anomaly Statistics Notifications, series MB3; copies of which are available in the Library.
	In each of the past 10 years, one per cent. of the total number of abortions performed on residents of England and Wales were performed under section 1(1)(d) of the Abortion Act 1967 (that there is a substantial risk that if the child were born it would suffer from such physical or mental abnormalities as to be seriously handicapped).

Bureaucracy

Archie Norman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his Written Statement of 20 May 2004, Official Report, columns 614WS, on bureaucracy, 
	(1)  what the budget of each arm's length body is in this financial year; and how many staff in each body are (a) providing duplicated functions and (b) involved in unnecessary regulatory and policy activities;
	(2)  if he will list the arm's length bodies he has identified which could be moved to a more independent status with greater stakeholder control;
	(3)  how many of the planned 25 per cent. fewer staff posts will be lost through (a) natural wastage, (b) compulsory redundancy, (c) transfer to another arm's length body and (d) transfer to his Department;
	(4)  if he will list the arm's length bodies he has identified to be merged or closed; and which of these was created in the last six years;
	(5)  if he will list the unnecessary regulatory and policy activities identified in the review of arm's length bodies.

Rosie Winterton: For budgetary information, I refer the hon. Member to the reply sent to the hon. Member for South Cambridgeshire (Mr. Lansley) today.
	A report on the Department's review of its arm's length bodies was published today by way of a written statement.

Canteen Facilities

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost was of running the Department of Health's canteen facilities in (a) 199697 and (b) the latest year for which figures are available.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 19 July 2004
	The Department's canteen facilities are run on a nil subsidy basis and there is no direct payment to the catering contractor. Utilities to the canteen facilities are provided free of charge, but are not separately metered and cost cannot be apportioned.

Children of Related Parents

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information he makes available to the public concerning the possible health implications for children born from patients who are cousins or otherwise related.

Melanie Johnson: Specific guidance or information is not issued direct to the public concerning the possible health implications for children born from parents who are related. National Health Service genetics counselling services are provided for families affected by genetic disorders, appropriate to their needs and circumstance, irrespective of whether the parents are related or not.

Civil Service Recruitment

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many of the reductions in the numbers of civil servants in his Department announced in the comprehensive spending review will be of special advisors.

Rosie Winterton: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my right hon. Friend, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury (Mr. Boateng) on 20 July 2004, Official Report, column 190W.

Continuing Care

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many of (a) the total number of applicants for NHS continuing care funding and (b) the number of successful applicants who are awarded continuing care suffer from (i) a form of dementia and (ii) Alzheimer's disease; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how many people in receipt of NHS continuing care are (a) living in their own home, (b) living in a care home and (c) in hospital, broken down by strategic health authority; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  what the average funding per week is for those who receive fully funded NHS continuing care; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: The Department does not routinely collect, or hold, this data centrally.

Continuing Care

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action NHS bodies have taken to make local people aware of the available process for review of cases where applicants may have been wrongly denied NHS continuing care.

Stephen Ladyman: Continued national coverage, through the media and the health service ombudsman's reports, has ensured a high level of awareness and National Health Service bodies have used a range of actions to further improve awareness of the recompense process. These methods include working with voluntary bodies, local media interviews, advertising within local newspapers or other publications and case finding.

Continuing Care

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what the average length of time is between a local health authority making a decision about an applicant's eligibility for NHS continuing care and informing the applicant about that decision;
	(2)  what the average length of time taken to process an application for fully funded NHS continuing care is, broken down by strategic health authority; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: This data is not collected by the Department. As stated in Directions, published earlier this year, when an individual has been assessed for fully funded National Health Service continuing care and is dissatisfied with the outcome, a review should be completed
	within two weeks of the individual registering their dissatisfaction.
	A Written Ministerial Statement, made to the House 22 June 2004, stated that it is expected that all reviews as a result of the Health Service Ombudsman's 2003 report will be completed within two months of all the information on the case being received by the strategic health authority.

Continuing Care

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many rejected applications for NHS continuing care since 2000 have been overturned following an appeal, broken down by strategic health authority; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: My written statement, of 22 June 2004, Official Report, column 78WS, details the number of cases which, as a result of the Health Service Ombudsman's 2003 report, have undergone a retrospective review, and the number found to have been wrongly assessed, broken down by strategic health authority.

Continuing Care

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how often a person in receipt of NHS continuing care must be re-assessed to ascertain whether they are still eligible for this funding; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: As care is needs based, individuals should be reassessed when their needs change to ensure that they continue to receive the correct level and type of care. This was reiterated and reinforced in the Continuing Care (National Health Service Responsibilities) Directions.

Correspondence

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if his Department will respond to the letters written by the hon. Member for Bexhill and Battle on (a) 13 May and (b) 24 June to the hon. Member for Doncaster, Central regarding the inquiry into clinical governance at the Conquest hospital, East Sussex before the House rises on 22 July.

Rosie Winterton: I responded to the hon. Member on 22 July.

Dentistry

Harold Best: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will introduce a returners scheme for NHS dental practitioners.

Rosie Winterton: A scheme for dental returners was launched in June. This provides incentives for dentists to return to practice. It is operated by the recruitment and returning advisers in each strategic health authority who liase with individual dentists and assess the level of support they may need.

Dentistry

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the level of Government funding for dentistry services was in (a) Wales, (b) England, (c) Herefordshire and (d) Worcestershire in each year since 1997.

Rosie Winterton: The gross and net fees paid to dentists for the provision of general dental services (GDS) represent the main element of primary dental care costs and are the data most readily available by health authority area. Data since 1997 is shown in the table. These figures exclude some payments to dentists such as commitment payments, maternity and seniority payments as well as superannuation payments made on their behalf. There is a discontinuity in the figures for Hampshire and Worcestershire in the middle of 200203 because of the change in health administration areas.
	Community, personal and hospital dental services have not been included in this table; these are directly commissioned by individual health authorities from locally managed resources rather than funded from a central national budget as is the case with the GDS.
	
		NHS dental service: gross and net fees paid for by the GDS March ending each year --  million
		
			 Year/health authority (HA)/primary care trust (PCT) Gross fees Net fees(77) 
		
		
			 199798   
			 England 1,271.0 882.2 
			 Wales 73.3 52.4 
			 Herefordshire HA 4.5 2.8 
			 Worcestershire HA 13.5 8.7 
			
			 199899   
			 England 1,351.90 931.8 
			 Wales 78.4 55.9 
			 Herefordshire HA 4.9 3.0 
			 Worcestershire HA 13.9 9.1 
			
			 19992000   
			 England 1,394.3 962.1 
			 Wales 81.8 58.1 
			 Herefordshire HA 5.0 3.1 
			 Worcestershire HA 14.3 9.3 
			
			 200001   
			 England 1,453.6 1,000.2 
			 Wales 85.3 60.7 
			 Herefordshire HA 5.0 3.2 
			 Worcestershire HA 14.5 9.3 
			
			 200102   
			 England 1,502.3 1,032.3 
			 Wales 87.7 63.2 
			 Herefordshire HA 5.0 3.3 
			 Worcestershire HA 14.9 9.7 
			 200203   
			 First half of 200203   
			 England 769.6 529.6 
			 Wales 50.4 28.6 
			 Herefordshire HA 2.4 1.6 
			 Worcestershire HA 7.5 4.9 
			
			 Second half of 200203   
			 England 774.1 532.5 
			 Wales 45.9 32.9 
			 Herefordshire PCT 2.3 1.6 
			 South Worcestershire PCT 3.8 2.4 
			 Redditch and Bromsgrove PCT 2.5 1.7 
			 Wyre Forest PCT 1.5 1.0 
			
			 200304   
			 England 1,589.2 1,105.5 
			 Wales 92.5 66.8 
			 Herefordshire PCT 4.5 3.1 
			 South Worcestershire PCT 7.9 5.2 
			 Redditch and Bromsgrove PCT 5.3 3.6 
			 Wyre Forest PCT 2.8 2.0 
		
	
	(77) Exclude patient charge

Dentistry

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many dentists left the national health service in each of the last seven years.

Rosie Winterton: Information on the total number of dentists leaving the general dental service (GDS) or personal dental service (PDS) is given in the table. Information is not available on the reason for leaving. The leavers include dentists who are retiring or taking a career break.
	
		General dental service and personal dental service: Number of leavers at 30 September each yearEngland and Wales
		
			  Exits 
		
		
			 1998 1,000 
			 1999 1,066 
			 2000 1,228 
			 2001 1,257 
			 2002 1,374 
			 2003 1,256 
		
	
	Source:
	Dental Practice Board
	Dentists on the GDS and PDS are mainly self-employed and are free to vary the amount of national health service work they do. Information is not collected on private working.

Departmental Annual Report

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many copies of his Department's annual report were printed in each year since 1997; how many were sold in each year; and what the (a) publication costs and (b) sales revenue were.

Rosie Winterton: The information requested is shown in the table. The Departmental report is also available free of charge via the Department's website.
	
		000
		
			  1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 
		
		
			 Number printed n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 2,500 1,500 1,500 
			 Number sold n/a 750 672 605 634 507 463 (78)342 
			 Publication cost ()(79) n/a n/a n/a 37,865 42,253 31,668 18,282 27,626 
		
	
	Notes:
	n/a = Information not available.
	(78) The Stationery Office has indicated that it expects further sales of around 100 copies.
	(79) The publication costs are those that fall directly to the Department for design, typesetting and artwork. II remaining costs for printing and publication were met centrally by the Stationery Office

Departmental Priorities

Oliver Letwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent discussions he has had with (a) the Chancellor of the Exchequer and (b) the Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury regarding departmental priorities.

John Hutton: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health has been in regular discussions with the Chancellor and the Chief Secretary to the Treasury.

Epilepsy (Dogs)

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will commission research into the use of dogs trained to alert people with epilepsy of an impending fit; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: No. The main agency through which the Government support medical and clinical research is the Medical Research (MRC). The MRC is an independent body funded by the Department of Trade and Industry via the Office of Science and Technology. In 200102 it spent 3.65 million on research into epilepsy. The Department's national health service research and development programme is additionally supporting a 1.35 million trial of longer term clinical outcomes and cost effectiveness of standard and new antiepileptic drugs.

Food Labelling

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what checks his Department makes on the accuracy of food labelling; what amendments to the requirements he has considered; what representations he has received on this issue; and if he will make a statement.

Melanie Johnson: Food labelling rules, which are agreed at European Union level, prohibit false or misleading labelling. Local authorities enforce them. The Food Standards Agency (FSA) carries out ad-hoc surveys, in close co-operation with local authorities, to check the accuracy of certain aspects of labelling, for example where new methodology is being employed to tackle suspected food problems.
	Where ad-hoc surveys identify shortcomings in current legislation, these may be resolved through the establishment of FSA or industry guidance or by working toward changes in EU legislation.

Foundation Trusts

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the total cost has been of conducting elections for the membership of boards on the proposed foundation trusts, broken down by (a) staff costs, (b) costs of payments to the Electoral Reform Society, (c) costs of setting up databases, (d) publicity, (e) recruitment of members and (f) public consultations.

John Hutton: holding answer 21 July 2004
	The cost of conducting elections is a matter for each national health service organisation applying for NHS foundation trust status. These costs will not be entirely additional, as they will replicate some current activity that trusts are already doing around informing the public, patients and staff about issues affecting each trust.

General Practitioners (Out-of-hours Service)

Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the impact on hospital emergency services of Nottingham general practitioners shifting their out-of-hours service to an arm's length provider.

Stephen Ladyman: There is to be no change to the pattern of provision for 80 per cent. of Nottingham residents already served by the general practitioner co-operative, Nottingham Emergency Medical Services (NEMS), and which have been in place for six years. Rather than an 'arm's length provider', NEMS is currently constituted as a not-for-profit GP co-operative with over 300 GP members. It will be moving in 2005 to a community interest mutual company with significant local population and stakeholder involvement.
	No adverse impact of the NEMS service on emergency care has been identified by local emergency services and only 1 per cent, of out-of-hours patient contacts are referred to emergency services by NEMS. NEMS is an active participant of the local emergency care network and continues to have a close working relationship with other local emergency care services.

General Practitioners (Out-of-hours Service)

Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of calls to National Emergency Medical Services doctors in Nottingham resulted in (a) a home visit by the doctor and (b) a vehicle being sent to collect the patient in the last year for which figures are available.

Stephen Ladyman: 7,406, or 12.4 per cent. of all out-of-hours patient contacts with Nottingham Emergency Medical Services (NEMS) resulted in a home visit last year. Over 70 per cent. of the visits were done in under two hours.
	2,951, or 5 per cent. of all out-of-hours patients who contacted NEMS used NEMS transport last year. Out-of-hours patient transport was introduced voluntarily by NEMS when it began operations in 1998. It is to support access to care for patients unable to access alternative means of transport to the NEMS primary care centre. The service is free and ensures that the patient is returned home after their consultation.

Green Minister

John Horam: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the activities of the Green Minister in the Department in financial year 200304.

Melanie Johnson: The Department is a key player in supporting the Government's objective of building a fair, inclusive and economically thriving society through improving and protecting the health and social well being of the people of England. Sustainable development is an intrinsic part of this aim.
	As the Department's Green Minister, I have a number of responsibilities that help underpin sustainable development goals. These include health inequalities, healthy eating, for example, '5 a Day', and physical activity, such as activity co-ordination teams. My on-going portfolio of work in these, and other, areas actively contributes to the delivery of sustainable development. Further details of the Department's work in these areas can be found at: http://www.dh.gov.uk/PolicyAndGuidance/HealthAndSocialCareTopics/fs/en
	Recent work has centred on the Department's public health consultation, Choosing Health? We are working closely with colleagues in the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to ensure that our proposals in the 'Choosing Health?' consultation encompass the broad aims of sustainable development, particularly with respect to improving health, promoting community development and social justice.
	I recently spoke about the 'Choosing Health?' consultation at a meeting of the sustainable development taskforce.

Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the total cost was of conducting the elections of public and patients to the board of Guy's and St. Thomas' Foundation Trust; and if he will break down the total, by sums for (a) staff costs, (b) publicity, (c) recruitment of members, (d) payments to the Electoral Reform Society, (e) building a database and (f) public consultation.

John Hutton: holding answer 21 July 2004
	This is a matter for the chair of Guy's and St. Thomas' National Health Service Foundation Trust. I have written to Dr. Patricia Mobberley, chair, informing her of my hon. Friend's inquiry.

Health Literacy

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment his Department has made of the health literacy of the population of England; and what plans he has for a future assessment.

Melanie Johnson: Health literacy relates to the ability to navigate the health care system and to get the most out of health care services and information about health including self care and healthy living. It correlates strongly with levels of educational attainment. It is estimated that in England 5.2 million adults have poor literacy levels.

Hospital Infections

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people who died in Basildon and Thurrock Hospital Trust hospital wards in each of the past three years were suffering from MRSA or related infections; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: holding answer 21 July 2004
	Information on the number of patients who died in Basildon and Thurrock University Hospital Trust over the past three years is not held centrally.
	It is difficult to produce statistics on methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) because there are no codes for antibiotic resistance in the international classification of diseases. However, they will be introduced in the future: thus, better data should be available.
	However, the results of a recent special study has shown that deaths involving MRSA have increased substantially from 1993 to 2002. The number of certificates with any mention of MRSA either as the underlying cause or contributing factor increased from 51 in 1993 to 800 in 2002.

Hospital Infections

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assistance the Department has given to Heriot-Watt University in developing new drugs to combat MRSA; and if he will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: None. The Department last year commissioned a 2.5 million strategic programme of research aimed at improving scientific understanding of antimicrobial resistance. 590,000 of that total sum will be spent on projects that will provide useful information relating to best practice in preventing methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

King's College Hospital Foundation Trust

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the total cost of conducting the elections of public and patients to the board of governors of the proposed King's College Hospital Foundation Trust was; and if he will break down the total, by sums for (a) recruitment of members, (b) publicity, (c) setting up of a database, (d) payment to the Electoral Reform Society and (e) staff time.

John Hutton: holding answer 21 July 2004
	The Department does not hold information on the costs of conducting elections in individual national health service organisations. The cost of conducting elections is a matter for each NHS organisation applying for NHS foundation trust status. These costs will not be entirely additional as they will replicate some current activity that trusts are already doing around informing the public, patients and staff about issues affecting each trust.

Latex Gloves

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he plans to publish updated guidance to NHS employers on the use of powdered latex gloves.

John Hutton: Allergic reactions following exposure to natural rubber latex have risen significantly over the past 10 years, particularly within healthcare occupations and this prompted action by the Department and the NHS Purchasing and Supplies Agency to remove powdered latex gloves, (the biggest cause of latex sensitisation), from sale to national health service employers. This action has reduced significantly the incidence of latex allergy, and has been followed up by the Department and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) issuing a latex toolkit. The toolkit covers issues concerning latex allergy, including what steps employers and employees should be taking to avoid it in the workplace. It also includes comprehensive advice on single-use glove selection, taking into account the importance of infection control. The toolkit can be found at: www.hse.gov.uk/latex

Major Incident Plans

Edward Leigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of National Health Service trusts meet (a) all, (b) at least six and (c) four or fewer of the eight criteria against which their major incident plans and preparedness have been assessed.

John Hutton: In response to a specific survey of National Health Service major incident planning conducted by the Department last year, all strategic health authorities confirmed that, when judged against the eight criteria, all NHS trusts in their area had met these eight criteria and could be assessed as being at least prepared to respond to major incidents.

Market Research

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department spent on (a) opinion polling and (b) focus groups in each year since 2001.

Rosie Winterton: A list of the Department's expenditure incurred on opinion polls and focus groups in each year since 2001 can only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Medical Trainees (Electives)

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 6 July 2004, Official Report, column 613W, on medical trainees (electives), what the total cost in England was of sending undergraduate medical students on electives in 200304; and if he will make a statement.

John Hutton: There is no cost to the national health service where undergraduate medical students decide to go abroad to gain experience as part of their training.
	Individual university medical schools determine their own undergraduate medical curriculum in the light of recommendations from the General Medical Council's education committee, which has the statutory responsibility to determine the extent, knowledge and skill required for the granting of primary medical qualifications in the United Kingdom. We welcome any educational experience that adds to a student's knowledge of medicine and broadens his or her experience of, and perspective on, healthcare systems at home and overseas.

Midwifery

Andrew Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures he proposes to take in response to the Independent Midwives Association's proposed model for midwifery, The NHS Community Midwifery Model.

Stephen Ladyman: I met with representatives of the Independent Midwives Association on 6 May to discuss their proposed model. At the meeting, they agreed to provide me with further information on the acceptability of the model for midwives and users of the maternity service. This is awaited.
	In the meantime, the model is being considered as part of the on-going work looking at midwifery recruitment and retention.

Myalgic Encephalomyelitis

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research into myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome his Department (a) is conducting and (b) has commissioned since 1997.

Rosie Winterton: The main agency through which the Government support medical and clinical research is the Medical Research Council (MRC). The MRC is an independent body, funded by the Department of Trade and Industry via the Office of Science and Technology.
	The MRC is currently funding two complementary trials into various treatments options for chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME) that aim to improve quality of life for those who are ill. The Department is meeting part of the cost of the trials. Patient recruitment will start later this year.
	The first trial is known as pacing, activity and cognitive behaviour therapy: a randomised evaluation (PACE). PACE will be led by Dr. Peter White at St. Bartholomew's Hospital in London, Dr. Michael Sharpe of the University of Edinburgh and Dr. Trudie Chalder of King's College London.
	The second trial, known as fatigue intervention by nurses evaluation (FINE), will test two different treatments that are particularly suited to those who are too ill to attend a specialist clinic. FINE will be headed by Dr. Alison Wearden at the University of Manchester.
	The MRC also funded a research project: The role of Noradrenaline in the Neuropsychological Pathogenesis of the Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, which was completed in 1998.
	The Department has separately over the last seven years commissioned a number of small scale research projects related to aspects of CFS/ME and, through the national health service research and development programme, is funding: Cognitive Behavioural Therapy in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: A Randomised Controlled Trial of an Out-patient Group Programme.

NHS E-mail

Richard Allan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the cost of reaching a settlement with EDS in respect of the cancelled contract for NHS e-mail and directory services.

John Hutton: holding answer 19 July 2004
	The National Health Service Information Authority (NHSIA) has reached a settlement with Electronic Data Services Corporation (EDS), following mediation, without admission of liability on either side. The terms provide for the payment by the NHSIA of outstanding invoices. They further provide that should EDS make redundancies as a consequence of the change of service provider, the NHSIA will indemnify the actual costs incurred. The NHSIA will also make payments in respect of costs relating to the conclusion of the project. Further details of the settlement are covered by a legally-binding confidentiality agreement.
	The exact costs are not yet known, but will be clarified when the contract ends in October.

NHS Staff

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) clinical and (b) non-clinical staff are employed by the national health service; and what plans he has to change the numbers.

John Hutton: Information on the number of clinical and non-clinical staff employed by the national health service is shown in the table.
	The Government expects that, within the clinical staff group, over a 2001 baseline, there will be increases of 15,000 general practitioners (GPs) and consultants, 35,000 nurses and midwives and 30,000 therapists and scientists by 2008. The nursing and midwifery forecast has already been achieved and significant progress has been made towards the others, as at September 2003, there were 35,978 more nurses and midwives, 5,231 more GPs and consultants and 11,825 more therapists and scientists than in September 2001.
	
		NHS hospital and community health services (HCHS): Total employed staff by clinical (80) and non-clinical (81) staff in England as at 30 September 2003
		
			  Headcount 
		
		
			 Total employed staff (HCHS) 1,144,697 
			 Clinical staff (80) 886,839 
			 Qualified clinical staff 583,566 
			 Other clinical staff 303,273 
			 Non-clinical staff (81) 257,858 
		
	
	(80) Clinical staff consists of HCHS medical and dental staff (excluding locums), ambulance staff, nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff, scientific, therapeutic and technical staff and health care assistants and other support staff.
	(81) Non-clinical staff consists of administration and estates staff and other non-medical staff and those with unknown classification.
	Note:
	All figures in this table exclude GP and GP practice staff.
	Source:
	Department of Health Non-Medical Workforce Census
	Department of Health Medical and Dental Workforce Census

NHS Funding

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much funding the NHS received in 200304.

John Hutton: Total net expenditure in the national health service in England, in 200304, is estimated to be 63.7 billion. Outturn figures will be available in the autumn.

NHS Statistics (London)

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS beds were available in Greater London, broken down by national health service trust, in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

John Hutton: The national health service is treating patients in better more efficient ways, for example the proportion of finished admission episodes at London NHS providers classified as day cases (where patients are admitted to hospital for a planned surgical procedure, returning home on the same day) increased from 28.8 per cent. in 199798 to 31.8 per cent. in 200203. Over the same period the total number of finished admission episodes increase by 15.6 per cent. to 1,639,915.
	We have also increased capacity outside of hospitals with the introduction of 10 NHS treatment centres in London. Treatment centres separate elective care from emergency care so that it is not disrupted and between April 2003 and May this year, 65,000 patients received treatment in this way.
	To make healthcare more convenient for patients, the NHS is increasingly offering services in primary care or in outpatient departments, without the need for a hospital admission. With more staff, more facilities and new ways of working, more patients are being treated in primary care.
	The information requested on NHS beds has been placed in the Library.

NHS Non-clinical Staff (Research)

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research his Department has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated regarding the role of non-clinical staff in the national health service.

John Hutton: The Department has commissioned a range of research projects on the national health service workforce, including on ward staffing, training, pay and human resource management and staff involvement, which has included in its scope staff in non-clinical roles. Full details of these and other policy research programme projects are on the Department website at http://www.dh.gov.uk/PolicyAndGuidance/ResearchAndDevelopment/PolicyResearchProgramme/fs/en

Non-departmental Public Bodies

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many non-departmental public bodies for which his Department is responsible have been (a) established and (b) abolished since 1997.

Rosie Winterton: Since 1997, the Department has established 32 and abolished 25 executive, advisory and tribunal non-departmental public bodies.

Oral Health

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how the oral health of UK citizens is measured.

Rosie Winterton: National surveys of the oral health of adult citizens in England and Wales have been carried out since 1968 and across the United Kingdom since 1978 and have been undertaken on a 10 year basis since then.
	National surveys of child dental health in the UK commenced in 1973 and have also been undertaken on a 10 year basis. The initial results of the most recent survey in 2003 were published by the Office for National Statistics on 30 June 2004.

Out-of-hours Care

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what mechanisms are in place to ensure that people are receiving high quality, safe services from private providers of out-of-hours primary care services; and if he will make a statement.

John Hutton: In England, all organised providers of out of hours services, including private providers, must meet the national quality standards, which ensure that patients receive the highest quality care. Primary care trusts (PCTs) have a legal responsibility to provide an out-of-hours service for their patients, which meets the national quality standards.
	PCTs will monitor their providers in the delivery of their services in the management of their contracts, to ensure they meet the standards, and the strategic health authorities in turn will performance manage the PCTs in delivering these services.

Pharmaceutical Services

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what arrangements he has made to align out-of-hours pharmaceutical services with the new arrangements for general practitioner services.

Rosie Winterton: Pharmacy opening hours are being discussed as part of the new community pharmacy contractual framework negotiations. Discussions are on-going.

Primary Care Trust Mergers

David Chidgey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his policy is regarding the maintenance of independent decision-making for each component trust where the managements of adjacent primary care trusts that were previously autonomous are merged.

John Hutton: There is no national policy regarding the maintenance of independent decision-making for each component trust where the management arrangements of adjacent primary care trusts (PCTs) are shared.
	This is a local issue, for consideration by PCTs and to be supported by their respective strategic health authorities.

Private Sector Operations

Geraint Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his estimate is of the annual cost to the NHS of contributing towards the cost of all those opting for private sector operations at a rate of 50 per cent. of the NHS cost for the equivalent operation.

John Hutton: holding answer 29 June 2004
	The estimated cost to the Exchequer is about 1 billion per year.

Public Bodies (Staffing)

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many staff are employed by (a) the Independent Regulator of Foundation Trusts and (b) the Modernisation Agency; and what the budget of each is for this financial year;
	(2)  how many staff are employed by (a) the Mental Health Act Commission, (b) the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, (c) the National Biological Standards Board, (d) the Family Health Services Appeal Authority, (e) the Commission for Patient and Public Involvement in Health, (f) the National Radiological Protection Board and (g) the Public Health Laboratory Service; and what the budget is of each for this financial year;
	(3)  how many staff are employed by (a) the Healthcare Commission, (b) the Commission for Social Care Inspection, (c) the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, (d) NHS Estates, (e) the NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency, (f) NHSU and (g) the NHS Counter Fraud and Security Management Service; and what the budget of each is for this financial year.
	(4)  how many staff are employed by (a) the NHS Pensions Agency, (b) NHS Professionals, (c) the Microbiological Research Authority, (d) the Council for the Regulation of Health Care Professionals, (e) the Postgraduate Medical Education and Training Board, (f) the National Joint Registry and (g) NHS Direct; and what the budget of each is for this financial year;
	(5)  how many staff are employed by (a) the Health Development Agency, (b) the NHS Information Authority, (c) the General Social Care Council, (d) the NHS Litigation Authority, (e) the NHS Logistics Authority, (f) the Dental Practice Board, (g) the National Patient Safety Agency, (h) UK Transplant and (i) the National Institute for Clinical Excellence; and what the budget of each is for this financial year;
	(6)  how many staff are employed by (a) the Dental Vocational Training Authority, (b) the NHS Appointments Commission, (c) the Health Protection Agency, (d) the National Clinical Assessment Authority, (e) the National Blood Authority, (f) the National Treatment Agency, (g) the Prescription Pricing Authority and (h) the National Prescribing Centre; and what the budget of each is for this financial year.

Rosie Winterton: The information requested is shown in the table.
	
		
			   Body  Number of staff(82) Budget for 200405 ( million) 
		
		
			 Dental Vocational Training Authority 4 0.26 
			 NHS Appointments Commission 46 3.56 
			 Health Protection Agency 2,518 195.7 
			 National Clinical Assessment Authority 71 10.2 
			 National Blood Authority 5,916 53.27 
			 National Treatment Agency 79 3.97 
			 Prescription Pricing Authority 2,919 68.00 
			 National Prescribing Centre 25 1.56 
			 Independent Regulator of NHS Foundation Trusts 28 5 
			 Modernisation Agency 765 161 
			 NHS Pensions Agency 277 22.66 
			 NHS Professionals 671 27.5 
			 Microbiological Research Authority (83) (83) 
			 Council for the Regulation of Health Care Professionals 3 2.0 
			 Postgraduate Medical Education and Training Board 27 1.83 
			 National Joint Registry 29 2.19 
			 NHS Direct 2,000 131 
			 Health Development Agency 132 12.10 
			 NHS Information Authority 918 217.6 
			 General Social Care Council 146 13.18 
			 NHS Litigation Authority 182 11.146 
			 NHS Logistics Authority 1,377 709.2 
			 Dental Practice Board 325 24.7 
			 National Patient Safety Agency 149 (84)14.67 
			 UK Transplant 121 13.8 
			 National Institute for Clinical Excellence 81 18.14 
			 Mental Health Act Commission 45 4.82 
			 Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority 106 5.30 
			 National Biological Standards Board 305 24.3 
			 Family Health Services Appeal Authority 13 1.41 
			 Commission for Patient and Public Involvement in Health 150 31.0 
			 National Radiological Protection Board 315 15.9 
			 Public Health Laboratory Service 69 0.350 
			 Healthcare Commission (CHAD 456 71.5 
			 Commission for Social Care Inspection 2,622 147 
			 Medicines and Health Care products Regulatory Agency 747 66.9 
			 NHS Estates (85)218 19.93 
			 NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency 318 21 
			 (f) NHSU 234 44.6 
			 Counter Fraud and Security Management Service 250 16.37 
		
	
	(82) The number of staff shown is the average in post in 200304 as stated in the annual accounts, except for the following bodies, where the number of staff shown is the rounded whole-time equivalent figure as at 31 March 2004:
	National Prescribing Centre
	NHS Professionals
	Postgraduate Medical Education and Training Board
	NHS Direct
	Health Fertilisation and Embryology Authority
	National Biological Standards Board
	Public Health Laboratory Service
	Healthcare Commission
	Commission for Healthcare Inspection
	NHSU
	Independent regulator of NHS Foundation Trusts
	NHS Modernisation Agency
	2 The Authority was subsumed into the Health Protection Agency on 1 April 2003.
	(83) National Patient Safety Agency will receive an additional proportional contribution from the National Assembly for Wales according to the Barnett formula.
	(84) The staff figure for NHS Estates does not include the 2004 Inventures staff.

Qualifications (Mutual Recognition)

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether in the negotiations on a separate directive on mutual recognition of qualifications, safeguards will be adopted to ensure that regulated health professionals will be covered by processes designed to protect public safety.

John Hutton: holding answer 13 July 2004
	Yes. The text of the draft, as agreed by the Council, largely consolidates the existing directives which already include safeguards for those professions which benefit from automatic recognition: the current draft includes specific safeguards on service provision for professions having public health or safety implications.

Residential Care (Visually Impaired)

David Atkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what obligations there are on social services authorities in relation to provision of residential care for the visually impaired; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: Social services departments are required to assess the needs of adults in accordance with the principles set out in Fair Access to Care Services, effective from 7 April 2003. Those eligible for care, including those who may have a sensory impairment, should receive care appropriate to their assessed needs in an appropriate setting. Except where an individual has complex or multiple needs, those with sensory impairments will often receive services in their own home.

Schizophrenia

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people have been diagnosed with schizophrenia in England in each of the last 30 years for which figures are available.

Rosie Winterton: Information on the number of people diagnosed with schizophrenia in England in each of the last 30 years is not available. Figures are, however, available on the number of finished consultant episodes with a primary diagnosis of schizophrenic psychoses for the years 199596 to 200203, and are provided in the table.
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 199596 35,960 
			 199697 35,500 
			 199798 35,820 
			 199899 36,920 
			 19992000 36,420 
			 200001 36,460 
			 200102 30,080 
			 200203 30,250 
		
	
	Source:
	Hospital Episode Statistics.

Seroxat

Janet Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what advice he has received about the prescribing of Seroxat to people in the 18 to 29 years age group.

Rosie Winterton: In May 2003, the Government's independent scientific advisory committee, the Committee on Safety of Medicines (CSM), established an expert working group on the safety of Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) because of continuing concerns about withdrawal reactions and possible suicidal behaviour associated with these products. The expert working group is still considering evidence regarding the safety of all SSRIs (including paroxetine). The group is expected to report on its findings later this year, and its report will be made available to the public with copies placed in the Library.
	In June 2003, the CSM considered newly received clinical trial data for paroxetine in children and adolescents and, on the basis of these data and advised that paroxetine should not be used in patients under 18 years of age in the treatment of major depressive illness, because of evidence of an increased risk of suicidal behaviour and a lack of efficacy in this population group. This advice was communicated to prescribers and patients in June 2003 and again in December 2003.
	In March 2004, the CSM issued advice to remind prescribes of the recommended starting and daily doses of paroxetine, as stated in the summary of product characteristics for this medicine.
	A Europe wide review of the risks and benefits of paroxetine has also been undertaken by European Committee for Proprietary Medicinal Products (CPMP), with the United Kingdom in the lead. This review included an assessment of whether some young adults as well as those in the under 18 patient group may have an increased risk of suicidal behaviour when using this drug. No strong evidence has been found to support an increased risk and the CSM and the CPMP have advised that the balance of risks and benefits for paroxetine in the treatment of major depressive illness and anxiety disorders in patients of 18 years or older is favourable.
	The CPMP has recommended that patients at high baseline risk of suicidal behaviour should be closely monitored during treatment with paroxetine. These include patients with a known history of suicidal behaviour or thoughts prior to starting treatment, and possibly young adults as a patient group. In April, a summary of the opinion of the CPMP referring to the need for monitoring during paroxetine treatment of patients at risk of suicidal behaviour, including those with a history of suicidal behaviour and young adults was released by both the European Medicines Agency and the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
	The CPMP review and recommendations are now being considered by the European Commission, with final decisions expected in the near future. When decisions have been reached by the Commission, a review of the evidence will be made public. If necessary, the product information for prescribers and patients will be updated and communicated, with details harmonised across the European Union.
	The MHRA emphasises that the patient information leaflet for Seroxat currently advises that symptoms of depression, including suicidal behaviour, may increase in the first few weeks of treatment and that patients should seek urgent medical attention if they have any distressing thoughts or experiences during this initial period or at any other time.

St. Helens and Knowsley Hospital Trust

Dave Watts: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what major capital projects have taken place in St. Helens since 1994; and what projects are planned over the next two years.

Melanie Johnson: The information requested has been placed in the Library.

Strategic Health Authority Spending

David Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the spending per head of population was in each strategic health authority in the last year for which figures are available.

John Hutton: Information for 200203, the latest year available, is available in the Library.

Thimerosal

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what evidence has been presented to his Department concerning health risks in relation to thimerosal.

Rosie Winterton: The only vaccine currently used in the United Kingdom routine childhood immunisation programme that contains a mercury compound is the diphtheria, tetanus and whole cell pertussis (DTwP) vaccine which is given combined with haemophilus influenzae type B vaccine. The mercury is present as ethylmercury in the excipient thiomersal (also known as thimerosal). As with all medicinal products, vaccine safety is continually monitored by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) with advice from the independent expert advisory body, the Committee on Safety of Medicines (CSM). The MHRA and CSM have thoroughly reviewed the safety of mercury-containing vaccines, including alleged links with neurodevelopmental disorders, on a number of occasions.
	In 2001, the CSM conducted a major review of the available evidence and has since then considered new data as it has emerged. In 2003, following a review of further studies, including two UK studies involving more than 100,000 children, CSM advice was placed on the MHRA website at http://medicines.mhra.gov.uk. Further studies from Denmark involving almost half a million children and a study from the United States have also specifically investigated the suggested link between mercury-containing vaccines and autism. None of these studies have found any evidence of a causal association with autism.
	On the basis of the available data, the CSM's advice remains that there is no evidence of harm from the very small quantities of thiomersal contained in some vaccines, with the exception of possible hypersensitivity reactions (typically skin rashes or local swelling at the site of injection). This view concurs with that of the World Health Organisation, the United States Institute of Medicine and the European Medicines Agency (EMEA).
	There is a global goal to minimise environmental exposure to mercury compounds. In line with this and despite the strong evidence supporting the safety of thiomersal in vaccines, the EMEA continues to promote the development of vaccines without thiomersal or with the lowest possible levels of thiomersal. However, the EMEA acknowledges that during some manufacturing processes, the use of mercury compounds is necessary and in such cases, residual levels might be present in the final vaccine product.

Traffic Offences (Ambulances)

Mike Wood: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when new regulations relating to fines for speeding and red light offences for ambulance drivers will take effect; and whether they will apply to (a) all vehicles used by the ambulance service, including unmarked cars and motorcycles, (b) private ambulance drivers, (c) vehicles carrying donor organs for transplant, (d) vehicles transporting surgical teams for transplant operations and (e) journeys that are not initiated by a 999 call.

Rosie Winterton: The new protocol issued by the Association for Chief Police Officers for dealing with speeding and red light offences committed by emergency service vehicles, took effect from 1 July 2004. The new protocol states that if an emergency service vehicle is caught speeding or going through a red light by a safety camera, a notice of intended prosecution will not be sent to the offending organisation if blue lights can be seen flashing on the photograph.
	The protocol also states that if blue lights cannot be seen flashing, the police will send the normal section 172 form and a Notice of Intended Prosecution, together with a standard exemption form.
	The protocol applies to all marked emergency ambulance vehicles being used for ambulance purposes.
	The protocol only applies to emergency service vehicles.
	If the vehicle transporting the organ is a marked emergency ambulance vehicle, the protocol covers such journeys.
	If the vehicle transporting the surgical team is a marked emergency ambulance vehicle, the protocol covers such journeys.
	The protocol applies to every ambulance journey undertaken by a marked emergency ambulance vehicle as defined in (a) above.

Trainee Doctors

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what funding has been available in each of the last seven years for part-time trainee doctors; and what has been budgeted for the future.

John Hutton: The funding of medical training salary costs is resourced through a central overall funding allocation that makes no distinction between full-time and part-time trainees. The distribution of funding between full-time and part-time training at local level is the responsibility of the respective strategic health authorities (SHAs). No figures are held centrally for the local breakdown of resources; the total funding provided to SHAs in 200405 was 3.8 billion.
	In addition and to support the introduction of the new contract, funding of 7 million in each of the years 200203 and 200304 was exceptionally provided to support the salary costs of part-time trainees. This was during a short period when new pay rates for full-time trainees were being progressively introduced and new part-time salaries, introduced in full in one step, were high by comparison; this is no longer the case.

Training Hospitals

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of UK hospitals are training hospitals.

John Hutton: There are no defined criteria, functions or facilities required for any national health service hospital to describe itself as a training hospital. However, all NHS employer organisations are expected to be effective learning organisations that embrace lifelong learning for their staff.

Travel Costs

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the travel costs were of civil servants in (a) his Department and (b) its related agencies in each year since 1997.

Rosie Winterton: Expenditure on travel and subsistence by the Department and Agencies has been as follows:
	
		000
		
			 Department  NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency NHS Pensions NHS Estates Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency Medicines Control Agency Medical Devices Agency 
		
		
			 199798 6,592  47 422  536 241 
			 199899 5,814  48 689  577 208 
			 199900 7,080  53 1,129  872 271 
			 200001 7,295 524 67 1,477  674 171 
			 200102 7,972 579 72 1,343  704 177 
			 200203 7,607 635 46 1,510  711 161 
			 200304 8,211 662 54 1,496 978  219

Treatment Abroad (NHS Scheme)

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people have taken up the option of treatment abroad under the NHS scheme; and what criteria are used to decide to which patients such treatment should be offered.

John Hutton: From January 2002 to the end of June 2004, 879 patients have been treated overseas on the National Health Service.
	Primary care trusts (PCTs) are responsible for commissioning overseas treatment for NHS patients. Individual PCTs work with their local acute trusts to determine the criteria used to identify those patients suitable for treatment abroad. As a general rule, acute trusts have selected patients for treatment overseas who have been waiting a long time for simple elective procedures such as knee and hip replacements, hernia and cataract procedures. These patients' diagnoses, medical conditions, fitness and willingness to travel and be treated overseas will then be taken into account to determine which patients will benefit most from this treatment in Europe.

Triage

Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what National Emergency Medical Services' triage practice is; and what its relationship is with NHS Direct nurse-led services.

John Hutton: Nottingham Emergency Medical Services (NEMS) has been integrated with NHS Direct since 1998. NEMS is developing additional capacity with NHS Direct to support local out-of-hours care and to extend the range of coverage of this model to 100 per cent. of the Nottingham population in October. NEMS currently provides care for 80 per cent. and the remainder of Nottingham practices use the Sheffield and Birmingham based triage services of Primecare, a national commercial deputising service.
	Since 2001, NEMS has been an out-of-hours exemplar site, with clinical integration of NHS Direct and the out-of-hours service. NEMS triage will continue to be that recommended by the review of general practitioners (GP) out-of-hours services in 2000, of using NHS Direct nurse assessment, followed by contact with a GP or other health professional, as required.

Waiting Times (Bury, North)

David Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list, for each of the last 10 years, the total number of patients in the Bury, North constituency, or the nearest relevant unit of population, waiting for NHS operations for longer than (a) 18 months, (b) 15 months, (c) 12 months, (d) nine months and (e) six months.

Melanie Johnson: The information requested is only available from 199596 onwards and is shown in the table.
	
		In-patient waiting information for the Bury area (Provider based)(Quarter ending March 2004)
		
			  Month ending  Year  Qtr  Unit name 6 months+ 9 months+ 12 months+ 15 months+ 18 months+ 
		
		
			 March 1996 199596 4 Oldham NHS Trust 1,825 594 0 0 0 
			 March 1996 199596 4 Rochdale Healthcare NHS Trust 923 356 0 0 0 
			 March 1996 199596 4 North Manchester Healthcare NHS Trust 1,069 478 0 0 0 
			 March 1996 199596 4 Bury Healthcare NHS Trust 384 149 0 0 0 
			 March 1996 Total   4,201 1,577 0 0 0 
			  
			 March 1997 199697 4 Oldham NHS Trust 2,306 967 0 0 0 
			 March 1997 199697 4 Rochdale Healthcare NHS Trust 1,124 547 173 0 0 
			 March 1997 199697 4 North Manchester Healthcare NHS Trust 1,320 612 185 28 6 
			 March 1997 199697 4 Bury Healthcare NHS Trust 353 157 37 0 0 
			 March 1997 Total 5,103 2,283 395 28 6 
			  
			 March 1998 199798 4 Oldham NHS Trust 2,402 752 16 0 0 
			 March 1998 199798 4 Rochdale Healthcare NHS Trust 1,058 477 172 40 0 
			 March 1998 199798 4 North Manchester Healthcare NHS Trust 1,838 1,011 483 175 0 
			 March 1998 199798 4 Bury Healthcare NHS Trust 481 230 102 11 0 
			 March 1998 Total   5,779 2,470 773 226 0 
			  
			 March 1999 199899 4 Oldham NHS Trust 1,278 383 68 1 0 
			 March 1999 199899 4 Rochdale Healthcare NHS Trust 944 460 203 36 0 
			 March 1999 199899 4 North Manchester Healthcare NHS Trust 620 251 103 27 0 
			 March 1999 199899 4 Bury Healthcare NHS Trust 576 336 209 51 0 
			 March 1999 Total   3,418 1,430 583 115 0 
			  
			 March 2000 19992000 4 Oldham NHS Trust 1,108 426 55 5 0 
			 March 2000 19992000 4 Rochdale Healthcare NHS Trust 1,089 521 191 61 0 
			 March 2000 19992000 4 North Manchester Healthcare NHS Trust 478 248 98 20 0 
			 March 2000 19992000 4 Bury Healthcare NHS Trust 544 325 161 56 0 
			 March 2000 Total   3,219 1,520 505 142 0 
			  
			 March 2001 200001 4 Oldham NHS Trust 857 256 43 0 0 
			 March 2001 200001 4 Rochdale Healthcare NHS Trust 707 310 61 16 0 
			 March 2001 200001 4 North Manchester Healthcare NHS Trust 452 149 30 3 0 
			 March 2001 200001 4 Bury Healthcare NHS Trust 299 118 0 0 0 
			 March 2001 Total   2,315 833 134 19 0 
			 March 2002 200102 4 Oldham NHS Trust 836 225 0 0 0 
			 March 2002 200102 4 Rochdale Healthcare NHS Trust 826 299 45 0 0 
			 March 2002 200102 4 North Manchester Healthcare NHS Trust 409 144 30 0 0 
			 March 2002 200102 4 Bury Healthcare NHS Trust 298 80 2 0 0 
			 March 2002 Total   2,369 748 77 0 0 
			  
			 March 2003 200203 4 Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust 2,039 464 0 0 0 
			  
			 March 2004 200304 4 Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust 1,402 0 0 0 0 
		
	
	Source:
	Department of Health KH07.
	
		In-patient waiting information for the Bury area (Commissioner based)(Quarter ending March 2004)
		
			 Month ending Year Qtr Unit name 6 months 9 months 12 months 15 months+ 
		
		
			 March 1997 199607 4 Bury and Rochdale HA 2,221 969 176 0 
			 March 1998 199798 4 Bury and Rochdale HA 2,807 1,360 517 156 
			 March 1999 199899 4 Bury and Rochdale HA 2,219 1,096 511 98 
			 March 2000 19992000 4 Bury and Rochdale HA 2,305 1,198 500 159 
			 March 2001 200001 4 Bury and Rochdale HA 1,727 778 220 51 
			 March 2002 200102 4 Bury and Rochdale HA 1,752 673 123 0 
			 March 2003 200203 4 Bury PCT 478 114 0 0 
			 March 2004 200304 4 Bury PCT 307 0 0 0 
		
	
	Source:
	Department of Health QF01.

TRANSPORT

Anti-terrorism Awareness

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what measures his Department has put in place to offer financial assistance to (a) sea freight and (b) air freight companies to help improve anti-terrorism awareness;
	(2)  what measures his Department has put in place to offer training to (a) shipping freight and (b) air freight companies in anti-terrorism awareness.

David Jamieson: It has long been central to UK transport policy that users should pay the full costs, including those of security. Organisations delivering training in air cargo security are required to be approved in that role by the Department, and to that end the instructors are required to have attended an air cargo managers course and are then provided with a training pack setting our the UK National Aviation Security Training Programme, with objectives and teaching points to ensure that the training, when they are accredited, represents a proper understanding of how responsibilities for air cargo security should be discharged.
	For shipping freight companies it is part of the Port Facility Security Officer's (PFSO) responsibilities, under the International Ship and Port Security (ISPS) Code, to ensure that appropriate training is conducted by their security staff.

Aviation (External Costs)

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the external costs associated with aviation, with particular reference to the environmental costs.

Tony McNulty: The principal external costs considered in work supporting The Future of Air Transport White Paper were environmental costs, the largest of which is the impact of aviation on global emissions. The supporting paper to the White Paper, Aviation and Global Warming, February 2004, reportsfor an additional runway at Stansted followed by an additional runway at Heathrowa net present value of the cost of associated global emissions to lie between 3.3 billion and 5.2 billion.

Bus Services

Gavin Strang: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the cost to each local authority in England arising from the tendering of local bus services was in each of the last five years.

Kim Howells: The table shows expenditure on support for local bus services by local transport authorities London between 199899 and 200203, the last year for which figures are available.
	
		000
		
			  1998 99 1999 2000 2000 01 2001 02 2002 03 
		
		
			 Bath and North East Somerset 518 583 589 762 947 
			 Bedfordshire 1,214 1,511 1,891 1,299 n/a 
			 Blackburn Darwen 301 924 1,313 n/a n/a 
			 Blackpool 212 -57 1,114 n/a n/a 
			 Bournemouth 331 507 543 405 502 
			 Bracknell Forest 375 489 360 246 377 
			 Brighton and Hove 933 747 1,147 1,203 933 
			 Bristol 1,625 1,580 1,781 1,767 2,407 
			 Buckinghamshire 1,573 2,212 1,799 2,196 2,737 
			 Cambridgeshire 1,735 1,802 1,669 2,766 1,605 
			 Cheshire 3,567 3,681 4,575 3,295 3,858 
			 Cornwall 2,298 2,579 2,668 3,159 3,698 
			 Cumbria 384 1,326 1,569 1,967 2,298 
			 Darlington 20 178 179 281 392 
			 Derby City 213 239 731 640 760 
			 Derbyshire 3,352 4,739 4,940 4,800 5,645 
			 Devon 3,015 3,228 2,917 4,025 4,506 
			 Dorset 1,747 1,744 1,611 2,061 2,179 
			 Durham 2,724 2,845 2,626 3,529 3,887 
			 East Riding 654 1,277 994 1,555 1,587 
			 East Sussex 2,819 3,438 2,741 3,416 3,697 
			 Essex 4,590 4,641 5,401 4,744 5,029 
			 Gloucestershire 2,120 2,389 3,138 2,157 3,086 
			 Greater Manchester PTE 20,520 20,996 25,159 21,010 20,239 
			 Halton 619 625 483 665 632 
			 Hampshire 4,866 5,586 5,287 7,075 6,874 
			 Hartlepool 212 264 249 241 316 
			 Herefordshire 1,612 2,102 1,250 1,579 2,081 
			 Hertfordshire 4,996 5,237 5,586 5,974 6,472 
			 Isle of Wight 483 464 541 505 547 
			 Kent 4,731 4,722 4,436 5,401 6,394 
			 Kingston upon Hull 447 399 768 451 661 
			 Lancashire 3,583 4,255 5,534 4,465 4,446 
			 Leicester City 795 831 573 794 1,457 
			 Leicestershire 1,359 2,108 2,361 2,188 2,985 
			 Lincolnshire 2,959 3,434 2,534 3,094 3,898 
			 Luton 64 85 415 485 595 
			 Medway 994 724 836 708 824 
			 Merseyside PTE 25,418 11,607 25,499 13,215 14,247 
			 Middlesbrough 567 273 925 198 202 
			 Milton Keynes 1,186 1,245 1,487 971 1,162 
			 Norfolk 2,957 3,360 4,338 3,291 4,337 
			 North East Lincs. 217 221 67 75 76 
			 North Lincs. 390 653 1,027 789 725 
			 North Somerset 470 493 581 572 614 
			 North Yorkshire 2,589 4,208 2,958 3,812 4,623 
			 Northamptonshire 1,373 1,472 1,325 1,671 2,143 
			 Northumberland 870 1,165 1,307 1,445 1,930 
			 Nottingham City   612 689 n/a 
			 Nottinghamshire 2,389 3,688 4,440 4,467 5,492 
			 Oxfordshire 1,813 2,358 2,720 2,994 3,607 
			 Peterborough 192 308 247 384 528 
			 Plymouth 693 555 549 408 489 
			 Poole 379 426 419 550 604 
			 Portsmouth 425 438 602 508 591 
			 Reading n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 810 876 570 n/a 1,135 
			 Rutland UA 118 166 168 113 337 
			 Shropshire 2,121 1,821 1,642 2,177 2,774 
			 Slough 151 161 153 178 224 
			 Somerset 1,628 1,756 1,688 2,450 2,836 
			 South Glos. 1,198 1,448 1,327 1,924 1,992 
			 South Yorkshire PTE 6,751 7,569 16,191 8,424 9,640 
			 Southampton 502 526 555 663 719 
			 Southend 122 225 173 265 415 
			 Staffordshire 2,061 2,864 2,692 3,369 3,814 
			 Stockton 908 968 617 783 937 
			 Stoke on Trent 411 438 461 431 573 
			 Suffolk 2,044 2,609 2,623 3,288 4,130 
			 Surrey 4,642 4,533 5,527 6,963 8,644 
			 Swindon 349 303 672 384 655 
			 Telford and Wrekin 776 846 431 381 323 
			 Thurrock 393 544 569 716 893 
			 Torbay 106 96 156 174 198 
			 Tyne and Wear PTE 9,575 10,225 11,578 10,829 12,320 
			 Warrington 1,311 1,457 1,364 1,506 1,527 
			 Warwickshire 661 897 1,521 1,392 2,875 
			 West Berks 501 686 1,107 461 851 
			 West Midlands PTE 27,241 28,343 24,687 30,754 24,581 
			 West Sussex 2,134 2,626 2,402 3,311 3,459 
			 West Yorkshire PTE 19,992 22,492 22,143 25,482 24,746 
			 Wiltshire 2,597 2,892 2,605 4,212 4,492 
			 Windsor and Maidenhead 414 573 636 714 820 
			 Wokingham 483 194 497 234 429 
			 Worcestershire 2,108 2,469 3,312 3,567 3,915 
			 York 633 678 583 620 686 
		
	
	n/a= figures not available
	These data have been taken from local authority and Passenger Transport Authority administrative returns. In addition to the cost of tenders for supported services, the figures include related expenditure on administrative services and some other payments.

Bus Services

Chris Mole: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he has discussed the competition implications of all bus through ticketing with the Department of Trade and Industry.

Tony McNulty: I have discussed the issue of joint bus ticketing with my colleague the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Employment Relations, Competition and Consumers. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has discussed the matter with the Chairman of the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), the body which has responsibility for applying competition law to the bus industry. Department for Transport officials hold regular meetings with OFT officials to discuss progress on bus ticketing schemes.

Central Trains

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the stations in the Central Trains franchise area where selective door-opening of trains is permitted.

Tony McNulty: There are five stations in the Central Trains franchise area where selective train door opening is permitted. They are: The Lakes (Warwickshire), Spooner Row, Whittlesea, Waterbeach and Bedworth.

Departmental Consultants

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much his Department spent on (a) headhunters and recruitment consultants and (b) management consultants in (i) 199697 and (ii) the latest year for which figures are available.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 21 July 2004
	The Department was formed in May 2002. The Department spent 58.5 million in 200304 on all types of consultancy excluding research. Separate figures for management consultancy are not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost. The Department spent 1.7 million in 200304 on recruitment consultants.

Departmental Consultants

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much was spent by his Department on public relations consultants in (a) 199697 and (b) the latest year for which figures are available.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 21 July 2004
	Expenditure figures for the financial years are set out as follows. The majority of costs for public relations consultants were devoted to the THINK! road safety campaign and sustainable travel.
	In the 200304 financial year the Department for Transport spent 347,666.56 on public relations consultants.
	Identifying any public relations consultants' costs for the old Department of Transport in 199697 could be done only at disproportionate cost.

Cycling

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many cycle routes there are in England; and what plans his Department has to improve safety for cyclists.

Kim Howells: Cycle routes are in the main the responsibility of local highway authorities. A cycle route will often consist of a variety of linked highways such as dedicated cycle tracks, cycle lanes on the carriageway and the use of roads designated as suitable for cycle routes. Sustrans, the Transport charity, predict that the National Cycle Network will consist of 10,000 miles by the end of 2005. In addition local authorities forecast building over 6,000 miles of new cycle lanes and cycle tracks over between 200102 and 200506.
	We have a safer cycling programme, which is a package of measures including improved infrastructurebetter cycle routes, off road cycle tracks, cycle lanes, advance stop lines, toucan crossings etc., better driving standards by improving training and testing for motorists, and publicity aimed both at drivers and cyclists. It also covers the promotion of measures which cyclists can take to protect themselves, such as taking cycle training, making themselves conspicuous and wearing a cycle helmet.
	We have also recently published an Action Plan for Walking and Cycling, which sets out more than 40 actions from across Government to make cycling and walking easier, safer and more attractive, enabling people to get around more by foot and by bicycle. One of the actions will be to fund new sections of the National Cycle Network to link with existing safe cycling and walking routes to schools.

Cycling

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many footpaths and footways had their status formally changed in each of the past three years in order to allow cyclists to use them legally.

Kim Howells: The conversion of footways (the pavement) under the Highways Act 1980 is a local highway authority function in which the Secretary of State has no formal role. We therefore have no details of the number of footway conversions.
	Powers are available in the Cycle Tracks Act 1984 to enable local highway authorities to convert footpaths (as opposed to pavements) to cycle tracks. Only orders which are opposed by any party are referred to the Secretary of State for confirmation. Details of this subset of cases referred to the Secretary of State in each of the last three years and to date in 2004 are set out in the following table:
	
		
			  2001 2002 2003 2004 
		
		
			 Cycle track orders confirmed 4 5 1 2 
			 Cycle track orders not confirmed 2 1 2 0 
			 Awaiting determination 3 2 2 3 
			 Total 9 8 5 5

Cycling

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to his Answer of 16 June 2004, Official Report, columns 9345W, 
	(1)  on pedestrian/cyclist accidents, what assessment he has made of (a) the problems caused by cyclists using footpaths to access destinations adequately served by cycle paths and roads and (b) the reasons cyclists do this;
	(2)  if he will commission research into (a) the implications of allowing cyclists to use footpaths and pavements and (b) the effects on older people of cyclists using footpaths and pavements.

Kim Howells: The Department has not carried out any formal assessment of the problems caused by cyclists cycling illegally on footpaths and footways (the pavement) and we have no plans to commission specific research into the subject. We are however aware from our post bag that many pedestrians, particularly elderly and disabled people are concerned at the danger and inconvenience caused by cyclists who cycle illegally on footpaths and pavements.
	While we do not condone it, we believe that some cyclists cycle on the pavement because they feel safer there than cycling on heavily trafficked roads. We hope that as facilities for cyclists and cyclist training improve, cyclists will feel safer on the road and that the number of cyclists using footpaths and footways illegally will reduce.
	Local Transport Note 2/86 (Stationery Office) concerns Shared Use by Cyclists and Pedestrians. This advises local highway authorities that such shared use facilities are not a general or area-wide remedy to cycle safety problems but should be confined to specific links in cycle routes and quiet footways along heavily trafficked roads. The guidance also advises that shared use may be unacceptable if significant use is made of a pedestrian facility by disabled, blind or partially sighted or elderly people.

Departmental Accountancy Practice

Richard Bacon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport who the Finance Director of (a) the Department and (b) the Office of the Rail Regulator is; what accountancy qualifications each Director holds; and on how many occasions there has been a qualified opinion on (i) the resource accounts and (ii) other accounts of each in the last five years.

Tony McNulty: The Finance Director of the Department for Transport is Mr. Ken Beeton. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants. There have been no occasions on which DfT accounts have been qualified.
	The Executive Director who had responsibility for finance for the Office of the Rail Regulator was Mr. Keith Webb. Responsibility for this appointment rested with the Rail Regulator. Mr. Webb did not hold an accountancy qualification. However, in line with Government Accounting, a senior manager who was a qualified accountant with 15 years post qualification experience, supported the Director and provided the appropriate level of financial advice. The new Office of Rail Regulation, which was established on 5 July 2004, will appoint a Finance Director. It does, however, have a Non-Executive Board member with responsibility for finance who is Mr. Peter Bucks.
	Since April 1999, the accounts of the Office of the Rail Regulator have been qualified once. The Resource Accounts-for financial year 200203 were qualified. The qualification related to resource expenditure of 0.4 million in excess of the amount authorised for the Request for Resources. The cause of the excess was additional consultancy expenditure incurred on the interim review of Network Rail Access Charges not being forecast in time to secure a supplementary estimate.

Departmental Administration Costs

Oliver Letwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the total administration costs were in his Department in financial years (a) 199697 and (b) 199798.

Tony McNulty: Details of gross running costs for 199697 and 199798 for the former Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions are contained in Table 5.5 of Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses 200001 (Cm 4601). These figures are on a cash basis. From Public Expenditure Analyses 200102 (Cm 5101), Departments' administrative expenditure was reported on a resource basis, as administration costs.

Departmental Air Travel

Roy Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the total cost of air travel between Northern Ireland and Great Britain was for (a) Ministers and (b) officials in the Department in the latest year for which figures are available.

Tony McNulty: Ministers use a variety of public transport services when undertaking departmental business and all ministerial travel is undertaken in accordance with the rules set out in the Ministerial Code and Travel by Ministers.
	The majority of this Department's air tickets are booked through a centrally negotiated travel agency contract. The total cost of travel between Great Britain and Northern Ireland booked through that contract in the financial year 200304 was 85,974.
	The cost of any bookings outside the contract possibly made in the same period could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Buildings

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the total floor space area has been of buildings owned or leased by (a) his Department and (b) its agencies in each year since 1997.

Tony McNulty: The Department for Transport was formed in May 2002 and as a result the information provided relates to the period from then.
	No comprehensive figures are available and to obtain them across the estate would involve disproportinate cost. The available estimate we have as at 1 April 2003 is 22,000 m 2 for the central Department and 302,000 m 2 for the agencies.

Departmental Buildings

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the cost of refurbishments to the fabric of buildings owned by the Department has been since May 1997.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 21 July 2004
	There have been no refurbishments to any buildings owned by the Department for transport since its inception in May 2002.

Departmental Electricity Use

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proportion of electricity used by buildings in (a) his Department and (b) its agencies has come from renewable sources in each year since 1997.

Tony McNulty: The Department for Transport was formed in May 2002, and as a result, the information provided relates to the period from then.
	The latest year for which we have information available is 200203 when 93 per cent. of the Department for Transport Central and 43 per cent. of its agencies electrical use came from renewable sources. The information for 200304 is still being collected and will be published in due course in the Sustainable Development in Government Report and on the Department's website.

Departmental Electricity Use

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much (a) his Department and (b) agencies of his Department have spent on electricity use in each year since 1997.

Tony McNulty: The Department for Transport was formed in May 2002 and as a result the information provided relates to the period from then.
	We do not have full details of spend on electricity across the Department estate but in 200203 the information we do have shows spend on electricity of 308,502 for the central Department and 1,554,527 for the agencies. The information for 200304 is still being collected.

Departmental Special Advisers

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the salary bill was for special advisers in his Department in 200304; and what it is expected to be in 200405.

Tony McNulty: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given today by my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister, to the hon. Member for St. Helens, North (Dave Watts).

Departmental Staff (Upper Age Limits)

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether (a) his Department and (b) agencies for which it is responsible (i) have a set retirement age which applies to all or most personnel and (ii) have a maximum age beyond which applications for employment will not be considered; and what the age is in each case.

Tony McNulty: The normal retirement age for all staff in DfT and its agencies is 60. However, staff outside the Senior Civil Service have a contractual right to work until age 65 if they wish. Staff who opt to work beyond 60 can choose to retire at any time up to their 65th birthday. Beyond those restrictions, there is no maximum age beyond which applications for employment will not be considered.

Departmental Vehicles

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many road vehicles are operated by the Department and its agencies; how many personal injury accidents involving road vehicles operated by the Department have occurred within each of the last five years; and what the Department's policy is for managing work-related road safety.

David Jamieson: The numbers of road vehicles operated by the Department and its agencies are not recorded centrally and neither is the number of personal injury accidents.
	The Department's policy for central staff is contained within the Risk Assessment Procedures for Staff Working out of the Office Environment. It includes advice for staff and line managers on vehicle roadworthiness, alcohol/drugs, driver tiredness and illness, mobile phones, weather, driver competence and the availability of driver training. The policy is presently being reviewed and updated.
	In the Department's agencies, responsibility for occupational health and safety management arrangements is delegated to agency Chief Executives. The agencies either have their own policy to suit their specific business needs or they follow the central policy.
	The Government Car and Despatch Agency will provide an answer covering its ministerial and other vehicles that it provides to Government Departments.

Departmental Water and Sewerage

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much (a) his Department and (b) agencies of his Department have spent on water and sewerage services in each year since 1997.

Tony McNulty: No figures are readily available and to obtain them across the estate for some 1,170 properties would involve disproportionate cost.

Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many names and addresses of vehicle owners or keepers have been disclosed by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority to third parties by virtue of that party showing reasonable cause for the disclosure over the last 12 months, broken down by category of reasonable cause; in how many cases disclosure has been subsequently shown not to be for a reasonable cause; what action was taken in each case; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: The DVLA vehicle register is a record of vehicle keepers. It does not contain details of the person who actually owns the vehicle.
	The number of 'reasonable cause' enquiries resulting in the disclosure of keeper details for the year 2003/04 is 1,014,309. The majority of requests are from insurance companies and finance houses in respect of insurance claims and vehicle-related loan arrangements. The remainder are from solicitors, car parking enforcement companies and members of the public.
	The Information Commissioner has powers under the Data Protection Act to prosecute anyone who knowingly obtains information without consent. Any disclosure subsequently used for a purpose other that stated in the application is referred to the Commissioner to investigate. Two such cases were referred in the past year.

East Coast Main Line

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the Department's future plans are for the East Coast Main Line.

Kim Howells: The current East Coast Main Line franchise is due to expire in April 2005. SRA announced on 7 May that four companies had pre-qualified to bid for the franchise. The franchise replacement process is continuing.

Employment Tribunals

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many cases against his Department and the agencies for which it is responsible have been brought to employment tribunals in each year since 1997 in relation to (a) equal pay, (b) sex discrimination, (c) race discrimination, (d) disability discrimination and (e) unfair dismissal; how many cost awards were made against (i) respondents and (ii) applicants; and how much has been spent (A) settling and (B) contesting claims.

Tony McNulty: The Department was formed in May 2002. The table as follows sets out details of cases brought against the Department since that date and the costs involved in settling the claim(s) outside of the Tribunal along with the legal costs incurred with processing of these claims.
	
		
			  2002 2003 2004 
		
		
			 Number of cases brought in Employment Tribunals claiming:
			 Equal Pay 0 13 8 
			 Sex Discrimination 2 3 0 
			 Race Discrimination 1 9 3 
			 Disability Discrimination 3 3 2 
			 Unfair Dismissal 7 3 4 
			 Cost Awards made against Respondents () 0 0 0 
			 Costs Awards made against Applicant () 0 0 1,200 
			 Money spent settling Employment Tribunal 0 0 0 
			 Claims () 5,500 20,727 10,000 
			 Money spent contesting Employment Tribunal Claims () 61,712.39 113,911.36 33,191.40

Green Minister

John Horam: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the activities of the Green Minister in the Department in financial year 200304.

Tony McNulty: In my capacity as Green Minister, I have been actively involved in the work of both ENV(G) Cabinet sub-committee and the Sustainable Development Task Force.
	In my wider role as Green Minister, I have overseen the publication of the Department's Sustainable Development Policy Statement which was published on the DfT website in March of this year. This outlines how DfT is integrating the principles of sustainable development into decision-making.
	I met with a number of stakeholders during 200304 to discuss a range of sustainable development issues of mutual concern.

Heathrow Airport

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many flights there were (a) into and (b) out of Heathrow Airport in each of the last three years.

Tony McNulty: In each of the last three years, the total number of flights (of all descriptions) at Heathrow were as follows:
	
		
			  Arrivals Departures 
		
		
			 2001 231,756 231,799 
			 2002 233,137 233,210 
			 2003 231,721 231,884 
		
	
	Source:
	National Air Traffic Services

International Ship and Port Facility Security Code

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he expects that, by 1 July, sufficient UK ports will have radiation detection equipment to satisfy the International Ship and Port Facility Security Code.

David Jamieson: The majority of UK ports (including all major and high risk ports) handling international shipping are compliant with the Government's mandated ISPS security requirements.
	Her Majesty's Customs and Excise are implementing a programme of work to introduce screening equipment at UK ports for detecting the illicit importation of radioactive materials that could be used by terrorists. To date, screening equipment will be in place at a number of major UK ports of entry. This is an on-going programme based on prudent contingency planning which is planned to be complete by March 2007.

International Ship and Port Facility Security Code

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what grants are available from Her Majesty's Government to help small ports in Scotland with the costs of meeting the requirements of the International Ship and Port Facility Security Code;
	(2)  what new funds will be available to small Scottish ports to meet the costs of the International Shipping and Port Facility Security Code as a result of the Spending Review.

David Jamieson: In line with existing transport security regimes in the UK, the costs of implementing the security measures will fall to those the measures are designed to protect, in this case UK ships and ports and the persons and property associated with them.

International Ship and Port Facility Security Code

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what representations he has received from (a) the British Ports Authority and (b) trust ports in Scotland on the impact of the International Ship and Port Facility Security Code;
	(2)  what discussions he has had with the Scottish Executive on the impact of the International Ship and Port Facility Security Code on small Scottish trust ports.

David Jamieson: The Department has carried out extensive consultation with industry on the implementation of the ISPS Code, including with the British Ports Association and other main industry groups such as the United Kingdom Major Ports Group (UKMPG). This has kept trust ports in Scotland and other ports fully informed.

International Ship and Port Facility Security Code

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the Answer of 15 July, Official Report, column 1276W, on the International Ship and Port Facility Security Code, which British ports have yet to receive an International Ship and Port Facility Security Code certificate.

David Jamieson: It would not be appropriate for us to comment on what ports/port facilities may not have received security certificates for security reasons.

International Ship and Port Facility Security Code

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  pursuant to the answer of 15 July 2004, Official Report, column 1276W, on the International Ship and Port Facility Security Code, when all (a) UK flagged ships and (b) British ports will be in possession of an International Ship and Port Facility Security Code certificate; and why the 1 July deadline for implementation of the code was missed;
	(2)  pursuant to the answer of 15 July 2004, Official Report, column 1276W, on the International Ship and Port Facility Security Code, what proportion of (a) UK flagged ships and (b) British ports were in possession of an International Ship and Port Facility Security Code certificate on 1 July.

David Jamieson: All Ship Security Plans and Port Facility Security Plans received by the deadlines set by my Department's Transport Security Directorate (TRANSEC) were approved by 1 July. On 1 July this represented 95 per cent. of all port facilities including all major and high risk ports, and 99.8 per cent. of all the UK flagged fleet, with the exception of one ship.
	Port Facility Security Plans not approved by the 1 July deadline were because of very late submission, or not meeting the required standard and under-going revisions. The Maritime and Coastguard Agency are pursuing the one remaining UK flagged ship awaiting certification to arrange a verification visit.
	Some small bulk cargo port facility operations are still submitting plans to TRANSEC. We expect that all remaining plans will be approved within the next few weeks.

Special Advisers

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many of the reductions in the numbers of civil servants in his Department announced in the comprehensive spending review will be of special advisors.

Tony McNulty: I refer the hon. Member to the answer from my right hon. Friend, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury of 19 July 2004, Official Report, column 37W.

Ministerial Meetings

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the official meetings he and his predecessor had with the Mayor of London since July 2000 to discuss transport issues in London, and the dates and subject of each meeting.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 11 May 2004
	Ministers and officials are in regular contact with the Mayor of London. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has met the Mayor on the following occasions, when a range of subjects were discussed:
	26 September 2002; and
	21 October 2002
	My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State's predecessor, the right hon. Member for North Tyneside (Mr Stephen Byers), met the Mayor of London on the following occasions:
	10 November 2000;
	15 June 2001;
	19 July 2001;
	10 October 2001; and
	12 December 2001.

Ministerial Meetings

Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on what dates in the last 12 months he has held meetings with the Mayor of London.

Tony McNulty: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I have given to the hon. Member for Southwark and Bermondsey (Simon Hughes) today.

Ministerial Meetings

Ian Davidson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he last met representatives of NUMAST to discuss increasing the job opportunities for British Merchant Navy officers on UK flagged vessels.

David Jamieson: Ministers and officials meet regularly with representatives of the maritime trade unions, including NUMAST, to-discuss issues affecting the UK shipping industry. We are currently considering additional measures to enhance UK seafarer employment opportunities. Our social partners, including NUMAST, have been invited to submit proposals as part of the Government's review of tonnage tax. The possibility of an employment link in tonnage tax is one of the areas under consideration. We will announce our conclusions when all of the representations have been carefully considered.

Olympic Bid

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he has had with Lord Coe regarding transport infrastructure for the 2012 Olympic bid.

Tony McNulty: The Secretary of State has discussed the 2012 Olympic bid with Lord Coe. Department for Transport Ministers and officials have met with London 2012 representatives, Transport for London and other key stakeholders to discuss the transport plans for the Olympic bid. The Government are confident that London can and will deliver outstanding transport for the Olympic and Paralympic games.

Policies (Environmental Impact)

John Horam: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many new policy proposals or significant changes in policy were produced in (a) 200203 and (b) 200304; how many of these were screened for their environmental impacts; and how many were the subject of separate environmental appraisals.

Tony McNulty: Our policies for a modern, efficient and sustainable transport system are set out in The Future of Transport White Paper, published on 20 July. The White Paper builds on the progress made since the publication of the 10-Year Plan for Transport in July 2000.
	All our policies are assessed using an approach that takes account of sustainable development objectives. This builds on our New Approach To Appraisal which takes full account of the environmental impacts of transport projects.

Ports (South-west)

Richard Younger-Ross: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress there has been on an environmental impact study into Teignmouth Harbour.

David Jamieson: An Environmental Statement on the potential impacts of the Teignmouth Harbour proposals was prepared by the promoters in accordance with the Harbour Works (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 1999 and was considered at the public inquiry held last year into the application for a Harbour Revision Order.

Ports (South-west)

Richard Younger-Ross: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects the report of the inquiry into the extension to Teignmouth Docks to be published; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: The Inspector's report of the public inquiry into the proposed extension to Teignmouth Docks is under careful consideration by the Secretary of State as part of the statutory planning process. The report will be published at the same time as the Secretary of State's decision on the proposals.

Ports (South-west)

Richard Younger-Ross: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent studies he has undertaken into the viability of ports in (a) Devon and (b) Cornwall.

David Jamieson: My Department has not undertaken any recent studies into the viability of ports in Devon and Cornwall. However, in September 2001 the South West of England Regional Development Agency (SWRDA) published their Regional Gateways Strategy which addressed the potential future roles of gateway ports in the South West region.

Press Officers

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much his Department spent on press officers, broken down by grade, in (a) 199697 and (b) the last year for which figures are available.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 19 July 2004
	(a) I refer the hon. Member to my answer to the hon. Member for Truro and St. Austell (Matthew Taylor) on 26 May 2004, Official Report, column 1626W that provided information for the financial year 199697.
	(b) The salary cost of press officers employed in 200304 was 697,000. The average number of staff in post in that year broken down by grade (full time equivalent) is as follows:
	
		200304
		
			 Pay band/grade Number 
		
		
			 Senior Civil Service 1 0.79 
			 7.1 (Grade 6) 0.17 
			 6.1 (Grade 7) 0.83 
			 5.6 (Senior Information Officer) 3.08 
			 4.7 (Information Officer) 8.92 
			 Total 13.8

Private Finance Initiative (Environmental Impact)

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to ensure that private finance initiative projects for which his Department is responsible create the minimum of environmental damage.

Tony McNulty: Department for Transport projects are evaluated against the Department's New approach to appraisal (NATA). NATA provides an integrated approach to appraising environmental, economic and social aspects of transport projects. The same procedures apply to PFI projects, which are also subject to NATA appraisals.
	Similarly approved PFI projects have to conform to the relevant planning provisions. The scale and nature of Department for Transport PFIs would usually require the Contracting Authority to prepare an environmental impact assessment on the project.
	The Department for Transport has jointly published environmental guidance on PFI projectsGreen Public Private Partnershipswith ODPM, OGC and DEFRA. The guidance note provides practical assistance on environmental aspects of PFI project development, procurement and management.

Private Finance Initiative (Environmental Impact)

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment his Department has made of (a) the sustainability and environmental impacts of private finance initiative (PFI) projects and (b) the capacity of the PFI process to deliver environmentally sustainable projects.

Tony McNulty: Project design has an important bearing on sustainability and environmental impact. This is reflected in the Department for Transport PFI project appraisal methodology and spending round evaluation criteria.
	The Green Public Private Partnership guidance note provides practical advice on how the PFI process can be used to deliver environmental benefits. The guidance directs contracting authorities to consider the scope for PFI projects to minimise waste, reduce whole life costs and design flexibility into facilities. The London Underground Power Supply PFI provides a case study of a project designed with tough environmental standards for power station decommissioning and redevelopment, and standards that reduce the level of greenhouse gasses produced.
	Quantitative and qualitative assessments of PFI project outcomes will improve, as more projects become operational for a longer time.

Private Finance Initiative (Environmental Impact)

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to make private finance initiative contracts more accountable and transparent in terms of environmental sustainability.

Tony McNulty: The Department for Transport will consider the accountability and transparency of its PFI programmes when the consultation on new HM Treasury PFI Value for Money guidance has been completed and the guidance issued.

Private Motoring (External Costs)

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent estimate he has made of the external costs associated with private motoring, with particular reference to the environmental costs.

David Jamieson: An estimate of the external costs of road use is provided on page 73 of the report to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State of the Feasibility Study of Road Pricing in the UK (published by my Department on Tuesday 20 July 2004).

Public Highways (Expenditure)

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much the Government have spent on maintaining public highways in each year since 1997.

David Jamieson: Government expenditure on maintaining motorways and trunk roads in England between 199697 and 200203 is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Expenditure ( million) 
		
		
			 199697 550 
			 199798 582 
			 199899 641 
			 19992000 726 
			 200001 736 
			 200102 711 
			 200203 796 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Figures are net totals (i.e. net of allowable receipts) for capital and resource expenditure.
	2. 199697 to 200001 figures are on a cash accounting basis. Subsequent figures are on a resource accounting basis.
	3. The figures for 199697 to the first quarter of 200001 include roads that subsequently transferred to the Greater London Authority.
	Since 2000 there has been a substantial detrunking programme in England. Therefore the money the Government have spent during this period has been against a diminishing length of trunk road. Details of the lengths of road detrunked each year will be available in September; copies of the information will be placed in the House of Commons Library.
	Local authority expenditure on maintaining local roads in England between 199697 and 200203 is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Expenditure ( million) 
		
		
			 199697 1,906 
			 199798 1,858 
			 199899 1,968 
			 19992000 2,072 
			 200001 1,802 
			 200102 2,048 
			 200203 2,094 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Figures are net totals of capital and revenue expenditure.
	2. Figures from 200001 onwards do not include London.
	Highway maintenance expenditure in Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and London is a matter for those Devolved Administrations.

Public Relations

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the salary costs to the Department were for employees working in public relations and publicity in each year since 1997.

Tony McNulty: The salary costs of staff employed by DfT(C), since its creation in May 2002, are as follows:
	
		000
		
			  (85)200203 200304 
		
		
			 Press Office 510 697 
			 Publicity (86) 459 729 
		
	
	(85) From 28 May 2002. There was a high vacancy rate in this period as a result of the split of what is now DfT from the former Department of Transport Local Government and the Regions.
	(86) Advertising and media buying for public information campaigns (e.g. Think! road safety), publishing (e.g. Rail Review), publication and distribution of information leaflets, posters etc.
	Information for each of the financial years 199798 and 200102, when transport policy formed part of the remit of the former Departments' of Environment, Transport and the Regions and Transport, Local Government and the Regions (respectively), is not available in a comparable format.

Public Transport Subsidies

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what research his Department has commissioned on the costs of public subsidies to public transport in the last five years.

David Jamieson: In the last five years the Department has commissioned a number of research projects investigating the costs and benefits of public transport. Projects specifically investigating the effects of public subsidies included:
	Monitoring Quality Partnerships (19992002)
	Croydon Tramlink Impact Study (200001)
	Evaluating Rural Bus Grant and Rural Bus Challenge (200104)
	Monitoring Local Bus Tenders (200104)
	Monitoring effects of extending BSOG to Community Transport (200304)
	Further information about these and other research projects is available from the Research Database at www.rmd.dft.gov.uk.

Radioactive Materials (Shipment)

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 19 May 2004, Official Report, column 999W, on radioactive materials, what constitutes a justifiable reason.

David Jamieson: The use of the word 'justifiable' was intended to make clear that radioactive material being moved without a serious purpose would not be acceptable.

Rail Crossings (Safety Equipment)

John Stanley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether the audio and CCTV safety monitoring equipment installed in relation to the Medhurst Road, Edenbridge rail crossing has been approved by the Health and Safety Executive.

Kim Howells: The Health and Safety Executive's (HSE) Railway Inspectorate (HMRI) approved the audio monitoring equipment installed at Medhurst Row, Edenbridge rail crossing. The HSE is not required to approve the CCTV monitoring equipment, which was fitted by Railtrack to gather evidence of level crossing user misuse.

Railways

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the effect on the punctuality performance of train operating companies of extensions of scheduled journey times; and if he will publish figures for punctuality performance for mainline services over the most recent 12 month period re-stated to be measured against pre-Hatfield scheduled journey times.

Tony McNulty: Train operators can make timetable adjustments, which may lengthen or reduce journey times, so long as they do not exceed the maximum journey times stated in the Public Sector Requirement (PSR) for each franchise. To re-calculate the performance of services over the last 12 months against historic timetable schedules could be done only at disproportionate costs.

Railways

Patsy Calton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  how much has been spent on the development of the Global System for Mobile Communications for Railways in each of the last seven years; and what the estimated cost is for each of the next five years;
	(2)  what the total cost of the development of the Train Control System was, excluding costs for erection;
	(3)  what the cost has been of erecting railway telecommunications masts intended for the Track Control System;
	(4)  what proportion of railway telecommunications masts on the West Coast Main Line are operational and supporting an interim voice radio system.

Tony McNulty: These are operational matters for Network Rail. I have passed these questions to Network Rail, for them to respond directly to the hon. Member.

Railways

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what discussions he has had with the Strategic Rail Authority on the past and future funding for rail freight through (a) the Freight Small Schemes Fund, (b) incremental output statements for freight, (c) freight facilities grant and (d) track access charges.
	(2)  if he will list the Strategic Rail Authority Freight Small Schemes Fund schemes (a) which have commenced, (b) where feasibility studies (i) have been completed and (ii) are continuing, (c) which have been placed on hold and (d) which have been cancelled, indicating in each case funding from the Strategic Rail Authority, (A) awarded, (B) approved and (C) projected in 200405.

Tony McNulty: Ministers and officials in the Department meet regularly with the Strategic Rail Authority about a wide range of issues. Details of the Freight Small Schemes Fund are shown in the Strategic Rail Authority's 2002 Strategic Plan. Of those listed Stirling-Alloa-Kincardine, is set to go ahead following approval by the Scottish Executive. Bletchley-Claydon is being developed by the SRA but remains unfunded.

Railways

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list out-of-court settlements to which (a) the Department, (b) the Strategic Rail Authority and (c) other agencies of the Department were party during the last 12 months, broken down by (i) date and (ii) amount; and who the other parties were in each case.

Tony McNulty: The Department does not maintain a comprehensive central record of-out of court settlements entered into by itself, its Agencies and the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA). The table sets out payments by three of the Department's Agencies which were made in out of court settlements following the commencement of legal proceedings finalised in the financial year 200304. Disproportionate costs would be incurred in identifying generally ex gratia and other settlement payments. However, maladministration claims against the Maritime and Coastguard Agency have been settled for a total of around 0.5 million, including one case finalised at the very beginning of the current financial year. These claims followed on from a ruling by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration in an earlier similar case that there had been maladministration in the carrying out of certain statutory functions relating to the safety of vessels.
	Full details of the names of the parties and the circumstances of the cases have not been disclosed as this could be in breach of confidentiality either formally agreed with, or reasonably expected by, the other party. It would be disproportionately expensive to review each case to confirm the position and/or to write to the parties concerned to seek their consent to any disclosure.
	The SRA was party to one out of court settlement in 200304 but the terms of the settlement expressly prohibit the parties from disclosing any details including the date, parties or amount of the settlement sum.
	
		
			 Type of case Amount Settled () 
		
		
			 Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency  
			 One compensation and six personal injury cases (Total) 31,508 
			 Vehicle and Operator Services Agency  
			 Refund of a Single Vehicle Approval fee 80 
			 Highways Agency  
			 Four claims by third parties relating to property damage and personal injury on the trunk road network (Total) 172,148 
		
	
	For information on cases brought to Employment Tribunals, I refer to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Gordon (Mr. Bruce) today (UIN ref 181465).
	No non-employment based, out of court settlements following the commencement of legal proceedings are recorded for the central Department in the financial year 200304.

Railways

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will place in the Library a copy of the W. S. Atkins report for the Strategic Rail Authority on a North/South rail line with all commercially sensitive information removed.

Kim Howells: I have asked the SRA to arrange for a revised text to be produced on this basis, and, once it is available I will place a copy in the Libraries of the House.

Rescue Co-ordination Centres

Alan Reid: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many (a) incidents, (b) accidents and (c) deaths occurred within the areas covered by each of the former rescue co-ordination centres at (i) Oban, (ii) Pentland and (iii) Tyne Tees in each year since 1998.

David Jamieson: The information requested is as follows:
	
		
			  1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 
		
		
			 Incidents   
			 Oban 286 281 205 310 240 297 
			 Pentland 111 106 110 180 192 153 
			 Tyne Tees 443 473 342 492 448 441 
			
			 Accidents   
			 Oban 241 230 159 245 209 231 
			 Pentland 77 68 67 117 105 107 
			 Tyne Tees 274 232 259 328 287 307 
			
			 Deaths   
			 Oban 10 14 7 11 10 9 
			 Pentland 4 4 3 5 1 3 
			 Tyne Tees 16 12 6 11 6 10

Road Improvement Costs

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the estimated cost is of the items in the programme of road improvements set out in Appendix 6 of the Highways Agency Business Plan which are dependent on the outcome of the Spending Review 2004.

David Jamieson: The current estimated costs of the schemes referred to are:
	
		
			   million 
		
		
			 A249 Iwade-Queenborough Improvement 81 
			 A5 WeefordFazeley Improvement 38 
			 Al4 Rookery Crossroads Grade Separated Junction 9 
			 A421 Great Barford Bypass 43 
			 A47 Thorney Bypass 28 
			 A63 Melton Grade Separated Junction 23 
			 M4 Junction 18 Eastbound Diverge 10 
			 M5 Junctions 1718 Northbound Climbing Lane 6 
		
	
	In most cases, the major costs of the schemes listed above will be incurred after 200405. The Highways Agency is proceeding with scheme preparation in order to allow the planned new starts to begin construction this year. Of the 8 new starts identified in the Business Plan, 2 are now under construction.

Road Schemes

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will set out in respect of each of the projects in the Highways Agency Targeted Programme of Improvements (a) the estimated project cost, (b) the cost benefit ratios and (c) the estimated date for completion.

David Jamieson: holding answer 6 July 2004
	The following projects, with their estimated cost and benefit cost ratio (BCR), are included in the Targeted Programme of Improvements (TPI).
	
		
			   Scheme  Last calculated BCR Latest Estimated outturn cost ( million) 
		
		
			 Al Adderstone to Belford Dualling 2.4 14 
			 A1 BramhamWetherby (Including Wetherby Bypass) 6.1 62 
			 A1 Dishforth to Leeming 1.5 325 
			 A1 Leeming to Barton 1.5 (87) 
			 A1 Kippings Cross to Lamberhurst Bypass 2.5 68 
			 A1 Morpeth to Felton Dualling 2.2 84 
			 A1 PeterboroughBlyth Grade Separated Junctions 8.6 86 
			 A1 Stannington Junction 6.3 8 
			 A1 (M) FerrybridgeHook Moor (DBFO) 4.5 161 
			 A1 (M) WetherbyWalshford (DBFO) 3.5 34 
			 A1/A19/A1068 Seaton Burn Junction Improvement 2.4 30 
			 A10 Wadesmill Colliers End 4.5 39 
			 A11 Attleborough Bypass 2.5 29 
			 A11 FivewaysThetford Improvement 2.4 60 
			 A14 EllingtonFen Ditton Improvement 1.8 490 
			 A14 Haughley New St. Stowmarket Improvement 2.6 31 
			 A14 Rookery Crossroads GSJ 2.5 9 
			 A19/A184 Testos Junction Improvement 5.6 21 
			 A2 BeanCobham Phase 1 BeanTollgate -1.5 20 
			 A2 BeanCobham Phase 2 TollgateCobham 1.6 101 
			 A2/A282 Dartford Improvement 1.5 80 
			 A21 Lamberhurst Bypass 2.3 19 
			 A21 Tonbridge to Pembury 1.6 65 
			 A23 Handcross to Warninglid Widening 4.4 41 
			 A249 Iwade-Queenborough Improvement (DBFO) 2.1 81 
			 A27 Southerham to Beddingham Improvement 7.7 19 
			 A3 Hindhead Improvement 2.7 236 
			 A30 Bodmin Indian Queens 3.2 69 
			 A30 Garland Cross to Chiverton Cross 2.6 125 
			 A30 Temple to Higher Carblake improvement 1.2 41 
			 A30/A3 82 Merrymeet Junction 2.5 9 
			 A303 Stonehenge 1.3 223 
			 A34 Chieveley/M4 J13 Improvement 4.8 76 
			 A38 Dobwalls Bypass 1.7 36 
			 A419 Blunsdon 3.3 40 
			 A419 Commonhead Junction 3.9 16 
			 A421 Bedford to M1 Junction 13 4.2 171 
			 A421 Great Barford Bypass 3 43 
			 A428 Caxton Common to Hardwick Improvement 3 44 
			 A45/A46 Tollbar End Improvement 3 57 
			 A453 Widening (M1 J24 to A52 Nottingham) 1.5 89 
			 A46 NewarkWidmerpool Improvement 7.9 186 
			 A47 Blofield to North Burlingham Dualling 7.1 15 
			 A47 Thorney Bypass 1.9 28 
			 A483 Pant-Llanymynech Bypass 1.5 41 
			 A5 WeefordFazeley Improvement 2.7 38 
			 A500 City Road and Stoke Junction Improvement 2.4 60 
			 A505 Dunstable Northern Bypass (A5 to M1 Link) 4.3 48 
			 A5117/A550 Deeside Park Junctions Improvement 3 43 
			 A57/A628 Mottram in Longdendale, Hollingworth and Tintwistle Bypass 9 103 
			 A590 High and Low Newton Bypass 3 22 
			 A595 PartonLillyhall Improvement 2.5 25 
			 A63 Melton Grade Separated Junction 24.7 23 
			 A64 Colton Lane Grade Separated Junction 1.2 11 
			 A64 Rillington Bypass 1.3 12 
			 A66 Carkin Moor to Scotch Corner Improvement 5.8 11 
			 A66 Greta Bridge to Stephen Bank Improvement 6.9 9 
			 A66 Long Newton Junction 1.4 8 
			 A66 Temple Sowerby and Improvement at Winderwath 1.4 23 
			 A69 Haydon Bridge Bypass 1.4 24 
			 M1 J19 Improvement 1.8 124 
			 M1 J2130 2.6 1,915 
			 M1 Junction 10 to 13 Widening 4.3 382 
			 M1 Junction 6a to 10 Widening 2.1 241 
			 M20 Junction 10A 4.2 46 
			 M25 J1215 Widening 2.3 105 
			 M25 J1623 Widening 5.5 496 
			 M25 J1b-3 Widening 9.9 66 
			 M25 J2327 Widening 2.2 419 
			 M25 J2730 Widening 2.4 402 
			 M25 J57 Widening 4.6 214 
			 M4 Junction 18 Eastbound Diverge 2.6 10 
			 M40 Junction 15 (Longbridge) 6 57 
			 M40/A404 Handy Cross Junction Improvement 3.7 12 
			 M5 Junctions 1718 Northbound Climbing Lane 7.5 6 
			 M5 Junctions 1920 Northbound Climbing Lane 2.3 8 
			 M5 Junctions 1920 Southbound Climbing Lane 3.1 8 
			 M6 Carlisle to Guardsmill extension 3 69 
			 M60 J58 Widening 3.8 117 
			 M62 Junction 6 Improvement 8.6 38 
		
	
	(87) Cost included above
	These costs include the latest Treasury guidance on risk and optimism bias and allow for inflation at 2.5 per cent. per annum.
	Of these, the following schemes have already started works or, if they have not, have provisional start dates in 200405, with anticipated completion dates as shown:
	
		
			 Scheme Date of completion 
		
		
			 A1 Stannmgton Junction 200405 
			 A1 (M) FerrybridgeHook Moor 200607 
			 A1 (M) WetherbyWalshford 200506 
			 A10 Wadesmill Colliers End 200405 
			 A14 Rookery Crossroads Grade Separated Junction 200506 
			 A2 BeanCobham Phase 1 BeanTollgate 200405 
			 A21 Lamberhurst Bypass 200405 
			 A249 IwadeQueenborough Improvement 200607 
			 A34 Chieveley/M4 J13 Improvement 200405 
			 A421 Great Barford Bypass 200607 
			 A47 Thorney Bypass 200607 
			 A5 WeefordFazeley Improvement 200506 
			 A500 City Road and Stoke Road Junction Improvement 200607 
			 A63 Melton Grade Separated Junction 200607 
			 A64 Colton Lane Grade Separated Junction 200506 
			 M25 J1215 Widening 200506 
			 M4 Junction 18 Eastbound Diverge 200506 
			 M5 Junctions 1718 Northbound Climbing Lane 200506 
			 M60 J58 Widening 200607 
		
	
	Decisions on start of works for the remainder of the programme will be made in due course.

Road Spending

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the money spent in each county in England and Wales over the last year on roads by (a) the Highways Agency and (b) local authorities.

David Jamieson: The table below sets out the latest available information on road spend by local authorities and the Highways Agency by county. Actual spend by local authorities in 2003/04 is not yet confirmed so the table provides the spend for 2002/03.
	Information on Wales is available from the Welsh Assembly.
	
		million
		
			 County Highways Agency Authority Local Total Spend 
		
		
			 Bedfordshire 23.7 26.7 50.4 
			 Berkshire 54.5 40.0 94.5 
			 Buckinghamshire 64.6 39.3 103.9 
			 Cambridgeshire 36.8 37.9 74.7 
			 Cheshire 66.7 71.7 138.5 
			 Cornwall 20.1 35.8 55.9 
			 County Durham 21.6 47.3 68.9 
			 Cumbria 16.4 38.0 54:4 
			 Derbyshire 23.0 54.4 77.5 
			 Devon 61.8 69.6 131.4 
			 Dorset 9.2 34.7 43.9 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire 18.9 24.5 43.4 
			 East Sussex 12.0 33.7 45.7 
			 Essex 98.4 97.2 195.6 
			 Gloucestershire 72.0 62.8 134.7 
			 Greater London 26.0 479.9 505.9 
			 Greater Manchester 49.0 130.1 179.1 
			 Hampshire 35.8 80.2 116.0 
			 Herefordshire 20.6 12.4 33.0 
			 Hertfordshire 53.6 56.3 109.9 
			 Isle of Wight 0.0 13.0 13.0 
			 Kent 79.5 83.5 163.0 
			 Lancashire 94.7 81.8 176.5 
			 Leicestershire 36.5 42.3 78.8 
			 Lincolnshire 47.6 60.6 108.2 
			 Merseyside 14.1 78.2 92.3 
			 Norfolk 18.0 57.8 75.8 
			 North Yorkshire 41.1 73.2 114.3 
			 Northamptonshire 41.5 25.6 67.1 
			 Northumberland 15.7 24.2 39.9 
			 Nottinghamshire 52.5 56.4 108.8 
			 Oxfordshire 55.3 34.4 89.7 
			 Rutland 5.7 3.3 9.0 
			 Shropshire 37.4 31.7 69.1 
			 Somerset 18.5 52.9 71.4 
			 South Yorkshire 54.4 57.1 111.5 
			 Staffordshire 40.3 48.8 89.1 
			 Suffolk 14.6 40.2 54.8 
			 Surrey 33.2 57.0 90.2 
			 Tyne  Wear 11.8 64.0 75.8 
			 Warwickshire 53.1 25.6 78.7 
			 West Midlands 64.4 122.7 187.1 
			 West Sussex 11.1 33.9 45.0 
			 West Yorkshire 34.9 106.2 141.1 
			 Wiltshire 41.0 34.4 75.3S 
			 Worcestershire 52.5 28.2 80.8 
			 Grand Total 1,753.8 2,809.4 4,563.2 
		
	
	Note:
	Numbers individually rounded to 0.1 million

Road Traffic Congestion

Richard Younger-Ross: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his latest estimates are of the level of road traffic congestion, as measured by (a) seconds per vehicle kilometre and (b) average peak-time speeds on inter-urban routes.

David Jamieson: The White Paper The Future of Transport' which was presented to the House on Tuesday 20 July by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State explains that we are developing new measures of traffic congestion. Estimates of average peak-time traffic speeds on weekdays were published in April of this year in Traffic Speeds on English Trunk Roads: 2003' available on the Department's website.

Roads

Richard Younger-Ross: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his Department's latest estimate is of (a) the cost of the local road repair backlog and (b) the proportion of principal local roads with no residual life as at 1 April.

Tony McNulty: The Department does not yet have firm enough data to make a robust estimate of the maintenance backlog on roads and footpaths.
	The structural condition of roads is represented by its residual life. Where a road's residual life falls to or below zero its deterioration is no longer predictable. It may remain serviceable but needs to be monitored closely to see if maintenance is needed. In the most recent available figures, for 2003, 17 per cent. of English principal roads came into this category.

Roads

Richard Younger-Ross: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress the Government has made towards its target of halting the deterioration of the local road network by April.

Tony McNulty: Results of the National Road Maintenance Condition Survey show that there has been a significant improvement in the condition of English local roads between 2000 and 2003, the latest year for which results are available. The Government is therefore on track to meet its target of halting the deterioration by 2004.

Roads

Richard Younger-Ross: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress the Government has made towards its target of completing or having under construction 40 schemes from the Highways Agency's targeted programme of improvements by 2005.

David Jamieson: 31 out of the original 40 schemes, contained in the targeted programme of improvements (TPI), are already completed, under construction or will be on site by April 2005. A further three schemes are planned to start this year.

Rolling Stock

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what steps he is taking to facilitate the design and production of less energy-intensive railway rolling stock;
	(2)  what steps he is taking to lessen the power consumption of railway rolling stock.

Tony McNulty: These are matters for the industry. Increased train weight arising from safety and other design features and the wider use of air conditioning and power operated doors have tended to increase the power needs of modern trains. But current and future developments should offset that. For example, future technology in body construction is expected to lead to lighter trains which draw less power and regenerative braking, which produces new power during the braking process, is already being introduced where practicable.

Rolling Stock

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what powers (a) he and (b) other bodies have to require franchisees to maintain an adequate supply of rolling stock of acceptable quality.

Tony McNulty: Rolling stock issues are among those considered when the terms of individual franchises are being drawn up. Where a need for rolling stock refurbishment or replacement is identified, the detailed requirements will be set out in the franchise agreement. Franchises are currently awarded by the Strategic Rail Authority, though it is proposed that this responsibility will in due course pass to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State as described in his statement to the House of 15 July.

Rolling Stock

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on progress with withdrawing Mark 1 slam door rolling stock from the train network.

Tony McNulty: By early July 2004, 522 Mark 1 vehicles had been withdrawn. The remaining 1,200 or so will follow progressively over the coming months. The final date for the elimination of Mark 1s from passenger service is the subject of a consultation being conducted by Her Majesty's Railway Inspectorate who have indicated that they are minded to approve a proposal that the deadline should be November 2005. 908 new vehicles have been introduced into service.

Salary and Recruitment Costs

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the (a) recruitment costs and (b) total cumulative salary bill of (i) the Chairman of the UK Commission for Integrated Transport and (ii) the Chairman of the Strategic Rail Authority are.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 19 July 2004
	For the Chairman of the UK Commission for Integrated Transport, the recruitment costs specifically attributable to this post are. not held separately. The most recent Chair appointment was in March 2002. The remuneration for the post is 30,000 per annum with the Chair expected to work five days per month.
	Full details of the payments made to the Chairman of the Strategic Rail Authority can be found in the Authority's Annual Reports. The recruitment costs specifically attributable to this post are not held separately.

Security Forces (Ships in British Ports)

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport who is responsible for a decision to allow security forces to board a ship in a British port.

David Jamieson: Ultimate responsibility for authorising the deployment of special forces in a British port will fall to Ministers, at the request of the Chief Constable dealing with the incident.

Smartcards

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress is being made with the introduction of smartcard technology; what action he is taking to ensure national compatibility of smartcards; what support he is giving to the introduction of smartcard technology; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: The Department published national interoperability specifications for smartcard ticketing in March this year (ISBN 09548042). The specifications enable a single bus or train ticket to be loaded at one location, used for travel across a network, and then used again at the new location. We are working with LAs and industry to set up the associated delivery framework that will provide the management, security and accreditation services to ensure ticketing schemes work seamlessly together.
	We are supporting a number of projects to help existing schemes be compliant with the national specifications. The London Oyster Card is one example. Others are the conversion of existing schemes in Cheshire, Nottinghamshire and Southampton and a new rural scheme in Cumbria and Lancashire (known as NoWcard). The Department has also given provisional approval to the West and South Yorkshire major transport scheme Yorcard.
	The Department is also working closely with ODPM and the Department for Education and Skills to ensure wider compatibility of smartcards, for example using the same card for school attendance, library access and travel.

Speed Cameras

David Wilshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport for which (a) motorway, (b) trunk road and (c) other road locations in Spelthorne permission has been given for (i) fixed and (ii) mobile speed and traffic light cameras; and what criteria were taken into account when deciding whether to grant permission.

David Jamieson: Surrey is one of five police force areas which does not at present participate in the national safety camera programme which provides for the costs of operating camera sites to be met from fixed fine resources. The camera sites operated by the police and local highway authorities in Surrey are therefore not subject to approval under the national programme.

Speed Cameras

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much money has been collected through fines imposed on those caught speeding by speed cameras in Havering since their introduction.

Caroline Flint: I have been asked to reply.
	Information on the number of fixed penalties or fines paid for the offence of 'speeding detected by camera' is not collected centrally.

Sustainable Development (Government Estate)

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what changes there have been in (a) road transport vehicle carbon emissions and (b) single occupancy car commuting from his Department against the baseline year set out in the Framework for Sustainable Development on the Government Estate.

Tony McNulty: The Department of Transport was unable to establish a baseline for 200203 for either (a) road transport vehicle carbon dioxide emissions or (b) single occupancy car commuting, due to the lack of available data.

Sustainable Development (Government Estate)

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what have been identified as the most significant sustainable development impacts in relation to the operation of the estate of his Department.

Tony McNulty: Most staff in the Department for Transport are located in about 100 larger properties while the remainder are located in relatively small properties belonging to the agencies. Consequently, the most significant sustainable development operational impacts of the main office estate are typically in respect of utility use, waste, paper, procurement and travel.
	On the non-office estate there are also few sites that might be considered to have significant sustainable impacts beyond the typical and these are:
	The Air Accidents Investigation Branch at Farnborough that handles crash wreckage from civil aircraft accidents and serious incidents within the UK, which they investigate.
	The Maritime and Coastguard Agency Maritime Rescue Sub Centres and Co-ordination Centres which are manned and operational 24 hours a day and include air-conditioned emergency operational areas, rescue equipment, emergency generators etc.
	The 24 acre Driving Standards Agency's training residential centre at Cardington.
	Vehicle Inspectorate's goods vehicle testing stations provide statutory testing of vehicles.
	The 100 HA motorway maintenance depots which provide a base from which to undertake routine motorway maintenance, and especially winter maintenance and could include one or more rock salt storage barns, a number of winter maintenance vehicles, weighbridge and washdown areas, and diesel fuel tanks.
	The sustainable impacts at these sites vary considerably depending on the nature of the work undertaken at them but are likely to cover such aspects as biodiversity, estates management, control of pollution, handling hazardous substances or waste and the discharge of water.

Sustainable Development (Government Estate)

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what parts of his Department's estate will not be covered by the commitments set out in the Framework for Sustainable Development on the Government Estate.

Tony McNulty: The parts of the Department's estate not currently covered by the Framework commitments are:
	The Marine Accident Investigation Bureau which only has 28 staff in a small minor occupied office in Southampton.
	Mobility Advice and Vehicle Information Service at Crowthorne which comprise only 11 staff.
	The Traffic Area Offices at Birmingham and Edinburgh because they are minor occupiers in their buildings and useful utility and other environmental information is not available.
	643 Marine and Coastguard sites that are typically unmanned radio masts, garages or sheds where a vehicle or marine rescue equipment is stored.

Sustainable Development (Government Estate)

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps have been taken by his Department to review arrangements for public reporting of sustainable development impacts since publication of the Framework for Sustainable Development on the Government Estate.

Tony McNulty: Since the publication of the Framework the Department now reports publicly on its sustainable development impacts and performance on its website and through the Sustainable Development in Government annual report.

Sustainable Development (Government Estate)

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what arrangements his Department has in place to report publicly on its key sustainable development impacts.

Tony McNulty: The Department reports on progress made in addressing the sustainable development impacts of its policies, in its Annual Report, and through our contribution to the Government's annual Sustainable Development Report.
	We monitor our performance against the Government's sustainable development indicators, laid out in Quality of Life Counts, by publishing them in Transport Trends.

Thameslink 2000

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the future of Thameslink 2000.

Tony McNulty: Network Rail's application for a Transport and Works Act order was considered at a public inquiry between June 2000 and May 2001. A decision on the project was deferred pending the resolution of three deficiencies identified by the inspector in his report, relating to the design of the scheme in central London. Network Rail has now submitted further applications addressing these issues, which are likely to be considered by a public inquiry next year.

Trunk Roads

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of public expenditure on new trunk roads in each year from 199091 to 201011; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: The following table sets out figures for outturn and forecast public expenditure on building new trunk roads and motorways and improving and widening existing roads from 199091 to 200506. The data do not allow expenditure on new trunk roads to be separately identified. Spending in future years is being reviewed as part of the Spending Review 2004.
	For completeness, the table .also sets out equivalent figures for private expenditure on building new trunk roads and motorways, and, improving and widening existing roads.
	The table must be interpreted with care as, for a number of reasons, the trunk road network has reduced in size over the last few years and so the figures do not form a consistent series.
	(1) The government's policy as set out in A New Deal for transport: Better for Everyone (1998 Cm 3950) is that there are a number of trunk roads which mainly serve local and regional traffic and are more appropriately managed at local level. Following negotiations we have, since 1999, transferred around 2,000kms of these non-strategic roads to local highway authoritiesabout 20 per cent. of the original network. The data have not been adjusted to take this into account. We would hope to complete the transfer of the remaining non-strategic roads, another l,000kms, over the next two years.
	(2) In addition, trunk roads (excluding motorways) within Greater London were transferred to Transport for London in July 2000.
	(3) The public expenditure numbers include payments to private operators for their investment. The table sets out figures for the payments made to the private sector, which are deducted to produce the net expenditure figure.
	
		 million
		
			 Financial Year Public Expenditure Private Expenditure Estimated Shadow tolls Net Expenditure 
		
		
			 199091 1,270 50  1,320 
			 199192 1,277 29  1,306 
			 199293 1,309 125  1,434 
			 199394 1,345 75  1,420 
			 199495 1,183 80 35 1,228 
			 199596 1,100 101 25 1,176 
			 199697 965 123 42 1,046 
			 199798 787 238 88 937 
			 199899 583 188 131 640 
			 19992000 496 33 205 324 
			 200001 506 28 202 332 
			 200102 636 173 206 603 
			 200203 731 223 220 734 
			 200304 687 242 239 690 
			 200405 724 150 261 613 
			 200506 769 325 353 741 
		
	
	Notes:
	Net expenditure equals public expenditure plus private expenditure less payments to private operators.
	Private investment is that estimated in the Ten Year Plan.

Water

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what changes there have been in water consumption by his Department in each year since 1997.

Tony McNulty: The Department for Transport was formed in May 2002 and as a result the information provided relates to the period from then.
	For the Department's London Headquarters building, Great Minster House, water consumption has. fallen from 12,308m 3 to 11,380m 3 between 200203 and 200304 giving a per person ratio of 7.3m 3 .

Water

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the non-office sites within his departmental estate which have been identified as being likely to provide opportunities for significant water savings.

Tony McNulty: We have not identified any non-office sites within the departmental estate as being likely to provide opportunities for significant water savings.

Watermark Project

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether his Department has joined the Watermark project.

Tony McNulty: Yes.